


Publicity

by ParvumAutomaton, Windona



Series: Publicity Verse [1]
Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Ensemble Cast, Gen, Season 3, canon ships exist
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-23
Updated: 2015-12-09
Packaged: 2018-04-22 19:51:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 23
Words: 73,523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4848266
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ParvumAutomaton/pseuds/ParvumAutomaton, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Windona/pseuds/Windona
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Reach have been removed from the planet and the Light exposed. Now all the League and the Team had to deal with was a little bad publicity. Compared to an alien invasion, that did not seem so difficult. And maybe it wouldn’t have been, if the League did not pull in Maxwell Lord to help.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Mission Failure

  
Jaime loved the soft gigs. And it didn’t get much softer than being in New York City watching the Thanksgiving day parade. He was part of alpha squad along with Cassie and Karen. Beta was on the other side of the street and consisted of Conner, Bart, and Virgil.

“My scans aren’t picking up anything unusual,” Jaime whispered to Cassie, pitching his voice slightly so that she could hear him over the murmur of the crowd.

She grinned back at him, “And you won’t.”

“I know this is the soft gig, but still we should...”

“This isn’t a soft gig,” Cassie cut him off, “this isn’t a gig at all.”

“Huh?”

“Listen, I joined the team just as the squad last year was deployed,” Cassie said, “So believe me, it’s an annual bonding experience for the newbies, not an actual mission.”

“Yeah but...” Jaime faltered, “Karen and Conner aren't newbies.”

“No, they’re chaperones,” Cassie laughed.

Jaime glanced back at Karen, who simply held her hands up.

“I’m not supposed to say anything,” she said with a smirk.

Jaime nodded, but it wasn’t until he saw her pull a netbook out of her bag and begin typing on it that he allowed himself to really relax. Karen might be working hard in college but there was no way she’d allow herself to get distracted like that unless this really wasn’t a mission.

Jaime and Cassie watched and pointed as bands, horses, and several giant floating characters marched past them. And both of them were grinning like kids in a candy store when the giant Superman balloon came into view.

Even the balloon wranglers were dressed to match as various Justice League and team members. Jaime was disappointed that no one was dressed as Ted’s Blue Beetle, but he was relieved not to see himself.

Then Superman’s cape extended and Jaime had more important things to worry about. Like the four dead bodies falling from under the balloon’s cape and getting tangled in the wranglers wires.

Without a thought Jaime’s vision became gold tinted.

_[Life signs detected on <one> person.] _

Jaime’s vision narrowed. He could see the man tangled in the control wires. He could make out his shallow breathing, a large tattoo of a raven down his left arm that marked him as belong to a Gotham gang, and a bleeding bullet wound in his chest.

The scarab pushed him forward and for a split second Jaime felt his stomach drop.

_[Breathing has been encumbered by the wires. <You> must move now.] _

Thoughts of his time imprisoned by the Reach were pushed out of his head. Jaime rocketed off of the sidewalk, forming his arm into a sword midair. He slammed his feet into the balloon. And wrapping his left arm around the man he cut him free with his right.

Cradling the gangster to his chest, Jaime sped towards the nearest ambulance. Fortunately they were waiting all along the parade route in case of emergency. And while it felt like hours although only seconds had passed between freeing the man and handing him over to paramedics.

Jaime had wanted to accompany him to the hospital, but the paramedics had refused. All it took was one of them pointing back towards the parade route to know why.

The superman balloon, whose control cables Jaime had severed, was blowing wildly out of control in the crisp November wind.

Jaime sped back to the top of the slowly deflating balloon looking for a point he could grab onto.

From his left he could hear Cassie shout to the balloon wrangles to let it go. And from his right he could hear Conner counteracting that order by telling them all to hold on.

He could see where Conner was coming from, if they let the balloon go it could crash into the preceding float, putting dozens at risk. But from the top of the balloon he could also see what Conner could not. Cassie standing over an exposed generator, part of a renovation project. It should have been off, but there were workers in that building watching the parade from a raised and heated vantage point.

Cassie tried her best as the balloon deflated over her. But as the fabric lost its shape there wasn’t much she could do to keep it away from the generator. And while Jaime tried to help her, he only succeeded in tearing a chunk off of Superman’s back.

Jaime tried changing tactics, he raced along the edge of the balloon, landing underneath it. He extended his shield above his head. However precious seconds were lost as he held the balloon aloft to enable civilians to escape. He couldn’t see anything other than the folds of the balloon and running people.

The smoke that pushed itself out from the balloon in waves told Jaime quite clearly that things had gone from bad to worse.

“Scarab, where is everyone?”

Before Jaime could finish his question, the scarab had already edited his vision to show the location of every person threatened by the fire.

Jaime pushed forward towards the balloon. He could see the people trapped by it, but he worried that if he cut through it now, they would be caught in the crossfire. So he’d have to do it one at a time.

“Blue!”

Jaime stopped. He turned and pushed towards the voice. He could see Static holding up the balloon using metal trusses and Wonder Girl waving him over.

“Can your beetle eyes navigate in this mess?”

Jaime nodded.

“The building entrance is over there,” he said pointing, “and the closest edge is over there.”

Static followed his directions. He levitated and placed trusses all along the route, creating a tunnel walled with flaming balloon.

“I’ve got it,” Static said through gritted teeth, “make sure everyone gets out.”

“Right.”

Wonder Girl raced forward and Jaime followed, scanning the rest of the balloon as he went. The scarab noted that while there had been stragglers caught under it, they were disappearing at near supersonic speed. Kid Flash was on the case.

The building itself was engulfed in flames when he and Wonder Girl reached it. Even though he really couldn’t feel the flames, Jaime still held a hand in front of his face out of habit.

“Shouldn’t there be a sprinkler system?”

Wonder Girl grimaced, “Bee thinks that it’s off for renovation.”

Jaime mirrored her expression but didn’t have time to respond. The scarab blared an alert and he flew into action. He sped past the flames at the entrance, jumped over the remaining civilians and threw up his shield.

It went up just in time to catch the burning debris from the floor above him. He had to use both arms to hold the shield above him, which meant that he could not help the five workers at his feet. He could not free the one from where his ankle was trapped, nor lift the one sprawled on the ground with a broken leg, nor comfort the one that was coughing and wheezing. All he could do was hold the roof up and uselessly watch.

Thankfully Wonder Girl was not far behind him. She grabbed the one who was coughing and flew him out.

But after she left the fire intensified. Jaime sunk down as low as he could to guard the remaining four workers. He couldn’t feel the fire, the smoke was filtered out by his armor, but just looking at their faces made Jaime’s heart pound with fear.

“I need options,” he whispered desperately.

_[That is unnecessary]_

“But.”

_[The Bumblebee is with the piping for this building. Full Sprinkler service should be restored within 28.3 seconds.]_

The scarab was right down to the millisecond. Although it did take an additional thirty seconds for the other heroes to reach him, sixty seconds to evacuate the rest of the workers, and five minutes to thoroughly soak the building.

Jaime carefully picked his way out of the building. In the street he could see Static talking with several of the rescued workers in the back of an ambulance. The worker whose ankle had been trapped noticed Jaime first. He gave Jaime a huge smile and wave, and the other workers soon followed. Even Static turned to flash him a thumbs up.

Jaime waved back, and he found himself grinning despite himself. Maybe this wasn’t so bad. According to the scarab, the only fatalities were those three gangsters. And they had been dead before any of this started.

“Why are _you_ smiling? You think this is a good thing?”

“No... I...” Jaime stammered, spinning to face a very irate man in a button up shirt, “I’m just glad everyone made it out.”

“So you saved a couple people from an accident you caused, big deal,” he sneered, “what about me? My life savings went into that building. What am I supposed to tell my wife, my kids?”

Jaime looked down, focusing on the toes of his armor, “I’m sorry I...”

The man pushed him back, “Are you? Really? Are you sure you’re not doing just what your old friends the Reach taught you?”

“No I would never I...”

“Are you telling me they never caused emergencies for you to solve oh _great hero_?”

Jaime flinched. Because while strictly speaking they hadn’t, that was only because while he was on mode there were enough opportunities for his heroics without them manufacturing ones.

“Godfrey was right, you Leaguers are no different than the Reach. Basking in unearned glory while hurting the common American.”

“That’s enough.”

Jaime spun towards the new speaker. He had no idea when Batman had arrived, but with how badly the day had gone it was not unexpected.

“Beetle, I will deal with this.”

Jaime took Batman’s dismissal. He slunk off, past Superboy’s and Wonder Girl’s clean up efforts. Past Bumblebee’s frantic attempt to salvage soaked notes and netbook.

He made his way over to Kid Flash who assured him that this was not his fault. It was however hard to believe him when another man, well dressed and nursing a nose bleed, made his way to talk to Batman.

 

* * *

“Batman, who is this man and why is he on the Watchtower?” Wonder Woman crossed her arms, cocking an eyebrow at the newcomer with slicked-back hair and a big smile.

“He is a respected businessman who is going to fix our reputation. He also is helping to fund the League,” Batman answered in his gravelly voice.

The frown did not leave Wonder Woman’s face and she leveled a glare at the newcomer, “If the League votes for him, you mean.”

“Of course,” he answered with a smile, “I am the guest here. And I promise, whatever you decide there will be no hard feelings.”

Black Canary walked over to where the three of them were standing. “I understand your hesitation, but I’ve looked into him, and I cannot think of a better choice. Besides, the League needs an overhaul of its reputation before it starts affecting our work.”

With that she called the League to order. Once each member was settled and sitting she introduced the businessman to them and ceded the floor to him.

“Hello, Justice League.” He began with a warm smile, “I hope that I will soon be in a consulting position to both you and your team of young heroes. I have dealt with crisis PR before, and it is my firm belief that a little work and training on interacting with the public will do wonders for you all. With just a little help from me, before you know it, everyone will be looking up to you again.”

“And why should we trust you?” Guy Gardner had his arms crossed, leering at the guy.

“Because- I am your friend.” He held his arms up, as if preparing for a wide embrace. He kept smiling even as a trickle of blood made its way down the cleft of his upper lip from his nose.

Most of the League was smiling back at him, but Captain Marvel was on his feet.

“Holy Moley! I’ll get you a tissue,” He said, as he sped back with a box.

“Thank you, Captain Marvel. I do get nosebleeds from time to time- weak capillaries in the nose, you see.” He dabbed at his upper lip, then pinched his nose.

With a slow count to five, the crisis was averted, and the businessman continued his presentation on the importance of public relations and an overview of his time tested strategies for talking with reporters. With a smile he then handed the floor back to Black Canary.

“Now, let’s put the decision to a vote. If you don’t want him helping the League, you can cast your ballot, and majority decides if he helps us or not,” Black Canary said.

The League members nodded, and he left the meeting room as the doors shut. He listened in, leaning his head against the door.

“I do not think that we should accept this man’s help. He is a stranger, and merely bringing him onto the Watchtower is a risk,” Wonder Woman said.

“We have let civilians onto the Watchtower before. After all, if Batman approves of him, he must really check out,” Superman said.

“I do not know. While I respect Black Canary’s leadership skills, I do think bringing this man onto the Watchtower before we made the final decision was not the wisest choice,” Red Tornado intoned.

“Besides, don’t we already have a public liaison? Catherine Colbert?” Captain Marvel was leaning forward, one arm on the table and the other gesturing.

“I am inclined to agree with Captain Marvel. Catherine Cobert has proven herself invaluable, loyal, and more than sufficient,” Martian Manhunter added.

“Yet in the last few years we have been losing more and more of the public’s trust. While the Reach and the Ambassador may be gone, we still have serious PR problems. They trust Luthor more than us; heck, US citizens like the Congress more than us. It’s starting to get in the way of our work,” Captain Atom added.

“Even _I_ am starting to notice it, and my city once decided to build a museum in honor of the Flash with high approval from the public,” Flash added.

“And given the fiasco at the Thanksgiving parade yesterday, a little PR help wouldn’t be a bad thing,” Hal said.

“Is there anything else we want to discuss? Because if not, then I think we should vote,” Black Canary said.

The end result was that every Leaguer but four voted for him to help the Justice League. He had an A designation by the end of the night.

It was Superman who broke the news to the man, shaking his hand and thanking him.

“You truly are a friend to the Justice League, Max Lord”

 

* * *

“Hey Rob! What’s up?” Static asked, walking up to the young hero.

“Nothing much, just taking a break from a case in Gotham to be with the team.”

“There’s always a new case in Gotham, but if you’d let me have a go at it...” Cassie said, cracking her knuckles.

“Of course, but you know how Batman gets,” He smiled and turned back towards Virgil, “So, anything new with you?”

Virgil frowned. “Same old, same old. Taking extra classes to make up for time that was spent on a Reach ship or lab or on the run. At least I’ll be able to graduate on time.”

“Well, good luck. And if you ever need tutoring-”

“I know. And I may take you up on it one day. But for now, I’m just glad I’m such a goodie two-shoes in school and the administration likes me. I can’t imagine how hard it is for Tye, Asami, or Ed.”

“Everyone here?”

Everyone on the team turned to look at Black Canary, halting all conversations.

“Bee is busy for now, and Blue should be on his way, but otherwise, yes. What is it, Black Canary?” Batgirl stood like a soldier reporting for duty, looking upwards at the older woman.

“There is someone with a new ‘A’ designation that we would like you to meet. He is a respected businessman and philanthropist, here to help us with our bad PR. Max, come and meet the team.”

Out stepped Maxwell Lord, his shined shoes clacking on the floor. “Hello, team. It is my mission to help rebrand both the League and the team, making you look better to the world to make heroing easier. Do not worry; I will not affect how you do your jobs. You can trust me, I am your friend.” He grabbed a tissue and dabbed at the blood coming from yet another nose bleed, and looked at all of their faces.

The team looked at each other. “Sounds like a great idea. After the invasion, we really could use someone to help us restore faith in the public,” Tim said.

“This could help us do our job; it makes life easier if you don’t have to dodge stuff being thrown at you,” Mal said.

“Wait, don’t we already have a liaison?” Wonder Girl asked.

Max sighed before offering her a smile, “Yes, however a liaison is only helpful for getting news from you to the world. What the world needs right now is to see you, each of you as heroes they can relate to, not just untouchable gods. Surely you understand?”

Cassie chewed her lip but chose not to press the issue.

“Anyway, we should start by naming your team,” Max said, clasping his hands and walking.

“Uh, do we need a name? We are supposed to be a covert team, after all,” Miss Martian said.

Max raised his head and looked over at her. “Yes, but not only does the public know about you, but the idea of a mysterious team acting in the shadows ‘for our own good,’ gives people like Godfrey ammunition against you. Now, any suggestions?”

“Teen Titans?” Robin threw out.

“No, it makes you sound like gods, or teenage oppressors. We need something more… friendly.”

“Well, we’re young, and it’s just us, how can a name make us more friendly than that does?” Bart said, one hand on his chin.

“That’s it! Young Justice!” Max beamed. “That’s a perfect name.”

“I didn’t say Young Justice,” Bart mumbled, but he had a slight smile on his face.

“All in favor?” Batgirl asked. The entire team raised their hands. “Well, it looks like we finally have our name.”

“I will get started on improving your image, and cannot wait to meet the remaining members of Young Justice.”

 

* * *

“How does this always happen?” Jaime complained.

He was flat on his back with Tye beside him. Their skateboards had rolled under a church's dumpster. And they were both looking at a man with a brilliant green skull hovering in the air.

“Well, I bet this will be more fun than that sidekick meeting,” Tye said.

Jaime laughed, “well at least now I'll have an excuse.”

“Hanging out with your best friend isn't good enough for them?”

“Quiet Minions,” the hovering man cut them off, “I am Atomic Skull and you will surrender to me!”

Jaime and Tye looked at each other and grinned.

“Well he doesn't look like the Atomic Skull from the team's files.”

“Legacy villain then?” Tye asked, “What's his power anyway?”

_[Warning: High levels of radiation detected.]_

“Tye,” Jaime shouted as his armor enveloped him, “Get big and get out of here.”

Tye listened to his first command but not his second.

“Mr. Skull is producing a lot of radiation,” he tried again, “get out of here.”

Tye firmly shook his head. But he didn't move towards Atomic Skull but rather to the civilians filtering out of offices, who were apparently beating the Monday afternoon hump by watching a superhero fight.

With Tye on crowd control, Jaime took to the air.

“Listen Mr. Atomic Skull, sir, I need you to clear out of here. This is downtown El Paso and...”

Atomic Skull cut him off with a radioactive blast.

“Doctor Electron,” he said, eliciting a confused sound from Jaime, “if you think I am going to let you enact your nefarious plans you are sadly mistaken.”

“Yeah sure plans, they are nefarious alright,” Jaime fumbled, “but you can totally stop all of them by getting out of town.”

Atomic Skull responded by blasting Jaime out of the sky.

Jaime landed in a crater at Tye's feet. He looked up at his friend in confusion.

Tye's astral form did not seem to share his confusion. Instead he pointed down the street to one of the local arts/old movie theaters. And that was all the prompting that Jaime needed.

“He thinks he's from that 50's hero flick?” Jaime asked pulling himself to his feet.

Tye nodded.

“So how do I stop him?”

Tye shrugged.

Jaime groaned, “Scarab any ideas?”

_[87% chance that death would eliminate the radiation threat.]_

Despite the suggestion, the scarab did not equip any weapons capable of lethal force.

“So what's plan B _, hermano_?”

_[Plan B is risky.]_

“Will it stop the radiation without killing him?” Jaime ground out, attempting to block a blast with his shield.

Attempting was the key word because he could feel the heat of the blast through his armor.

_[Affirmative, We can absorb his radiation and transform it internally.]_

That sounded too easy, “So why is it risky?”

_[This new energy will overwhelm our circuits in 5.3 seconds unless we discharge it.]_

“Thus making a big boom right.”

_[But preferable to us being the big boom.]_

Jaime glanced down at the area below him. One church, a couple of office building filled with workers and a scattering of people on the street. And it was that street that would save him. Other than a couple of parked cars it was empty and beyond it was the Texas desert. A perfect place to absorb the blast.

“Let's do it.”

Jaime rocketed forward towards Atomic Skull. But again he was blasted out of the sky. That was not going to work.

Tye turned his attention from the civilians that he was guarding to Jaime. He pretended to write on a notepad. It took Jaime a second to get the reference, but once he did he had a plan.

“Come and get me you Atomic Buffoon,” he called trying his best to impersonate a 50's stock villain, “That is if you ever want to see your precious Zelda Wentworth again.”

That did it. Atomic Skull rushed him, and Jaime was ready for it. He caught Skull easily and wrapped both of his arms around the man.

Electricity sparked between the scarab's antenna. Jaime felt like a million ants were running up and down his skin. As he absorbed the radiation the the ants he felt running seemed to get sharper and sharper feet, or maybe they were actually biting him.

[ _Radiation threat eliminated,]_ the scarab chirped breaking into his thoughts, _[preparing for energy discharge.]_

Jaime turned towards the road, aiming the weapon that the scarab had made. Unfortunately the road was no longer empty. And one blond haired man stood in front of his parked Porsche.

“Move!” Jaime shouted, struggling to hold back the energy that was sparking along the seams of his armor.

“You can’t tell me what...Just like...Reach … mine …. can't destroy.”

Jaime couldn't concentrate on what the man was saying. He couldn't concentrate on anything except the energy in his suit. Struggling against releasing the energy was like struggling against taking a breath. Every fiber of his body told him to do it but he knew he could not.

 _[Secondary target located! Potential for casualties at 0%,]_ the scarab all but shouted in his head, _[engage?]_

Jaime's nod was miniscule, but it was enough for the scarab. The targeting changed and the energy arced out of the weapon.

Once it discharged, Jaime fell to his knees gasping. He even felt himself begin to smile. But then he saw the scarab's second target. His grandmother would be rolling in her grave.

“Good job taking out that church dude,” Tye laughed beside him.

“Oh, yeah, like that was plan A.”

Jaime waited with Tye and the unconscious Atomic Skull, for Belle Reve's pickup. He didn't want to just staple and run. Atomic Skull wasn't thinking clearly, and Jaime wanted to make sure that he was helped and not just dropped in some dark cell.

The pickup itself went without incident but it took long enough for a mob of people to form off to the side. And once the threat of Atomic Skull was completely gone the voices started.

“What did you do to our church?”

“Scum, this wouldn't have happened if you weren't here.”

“Did you even try?”

“Did you even think about us?”

Jaime shrunk beside Tye. He looked down and backed away from the crowd. He backed right into a scowling policeman.

“Do you hero types ever consider collateral damage?”

“I'm really sorry,” Jaime mumbled, “I could help rebuild it?”

The officer snorted, “there is no way we're going to become more beholden to a Reach sympathizer.”

“You shut your fat mouth,” Tye shouted glaring at the cop.

Jaime saw the officer's eyes narrow, and without hesitation he grabbed Tye and flew up and out of there.

Tye continued to glare in the general direction of the people long after they landed at the Zeta Tubes.

“They're right you know,” Jaime said softly, “this is the kind of stuff that the Reach would do.”

“You're nothing like them,” Tye stated firmly, “if anything looks familiar it's because they tried to imitate a great hero. Do you hear me?”

“Yeah,” Jaime said softly not meeting his eyes, “but I've got to go, that team meeting.”

Tye gave a short laugh, “Fine, oh responsible one, but tomorrow we go skate in a place that deserves our presence, somewhere that respects the Blue Beetle.”

“There aren't a lot of places to skate in the middle of the desert,” Jaime stated.

“I will attempt to grind a cactus if I have to dude.”

Jaime gave him a smile, “please don't.”

Tye laughed and waved. Jaime returned the gesture before entering the hidden Zeta chamber and teleporting up to the watchtower.

His tentative good mood evaporated as he walked past the team in full discussion. If he cut in now everyone would notice. And he was sure that someone, probably Bart, would insist on knowing what happened. Bart wouldn't mean anything bad by it. But Jaime didn't feel like explaining the disaster right now.

So he slipped past the team and over to the team's personal rec room. He figured he watch some television. Relax to some mindless entertainment and forget the worries of the day.

He slid down into the couch and turned on the TV. The first thing he noticed was that Superboy was not the last person to watch it as it was not set to static. Not that Jaime cared what was on while the commercials played.

“ _Blue Beetle-Hero or menace? Stay tuned to GBS’s hard hitting coverage of this and other top news stories”_

He closed his eyes and could now understand the appeal of static. With one hand he reached for the remote, however before he grabbed it the sound cut out and the screen went dark.

“Don’t worry about what pundits say.”

Jaime jumped and twisted to face the newcomer, Maxwell Lord. He was the man that the team wanted him to meet with, at least according to surveillance data from the Scarab.

“Yeah, but. I mean they’re right to think that, you know. I was a menace.”

He registered the Scarab’s disagreement as Max strode across the team’s rec room and stood by the couch.

“What happened with the Reach hardly counts.”

Jaime shrugged and looked up at the man. “Maybe, that’s what everyone here says. But it was still my mistake, my lapse of judgment that started the mess...”

“From what I hear” Max said, “it was the result of a lapse of communication. After all, didn’t Ted Kord leave notes about the scarab? If they had simply given you all the information your predecessor left...”

“I guess, but it’s not like they did that on purpose. Everyone was under so much stress. It’s understandable.”

“Ah so it is understandable for them to keep secrets from you that lead to bad things, surely then it is also understandable that when you acted open, honestly, and to the best of your ability things can sometimes still go wrong.”

Jaime gave a half grin. “When you put it like that...”

“You are a good hero,” Max said placing a hand on Jaime’s shoulder which caused the Scarab to chitter angrily, “I don’t know if anyone told you, but I knew Ted, and I believe that he would be proud of you.”

Jaime gave a small, but genuine, smile as the warm feeling of pride spread through him.

“Thank you.”

Max smiled, “And if you still feel bad about those pundits, let me help you. That is why I am here. I think the world should know that a hero as honest as you has their back.”

“Maybe, I don’t know. I’m not really comfortable being on television...”

“There’s no pressure.” Max said with a shrug. “But if you change your mind just let me know. For you, my door is always open, alright?”

“Yeah,” Jaime said, watching him leave, “alright.”

* * *

“ _So I haven’t seen you around much, Bee, is something wrong?”_

M’gann’s concern traveled easily over the psychic link. Normally, as senior members, Karen and M’gann would avoid the small talk on a stealth mission. But they had been hiding inside the vents at LexCorp’s Gotham headquarters for over an hour without so much of a hint of what his high security shipment was. So both women were getting bored.

“ _Nothing’s wrong,”_ Karen reassured, “ _I just lost half of my senior thesis, so I’ve been busy.”_

“ _Oh, don’t you have a back up?”_

“ _Well I do now,”_ Karen said rolling her eyes, “ _in fact now it’s saved in three places, a flash drive, online, and on the watchtower’s network.”_

M’gann laughed over the link, “ _not going to make the same mistake are you?”_

“ _Yeah well I can recover from losing it once. Twice and I’ll have to push my graduation back.”_

“ _Oh,”_ M’gann said softly, “ _I bet this type of drawn out mission isn’t good for you then.”_

“ _Don’t worry about it Miss M. If it takes me a full four years to graduate because I was saving the world, then that’s fine. If it takes me that long because I’ve been wasting time in meetings to name the team. Well that’s annoying.”_

She could feel M’gann roll her eyes through the link, “ _Max sure does love his meetings.”_

“ _Girl, tell me about it,”_ Karen commiserated with an annoyed sigh.

“ _I knew I wasn’t the only one. I mean sure my uncle’s a little fed up, but everyone else seems to think this is some vital strategy,”_ M’gann said.

Karen adjusted herself to get a better view, but none of Lex's workers had done anything of note.

“ _Is he doing something other than rebranding?”_

“ _He's been pushing for a Mars mission.”_

“ _What for?”_

“ _I haven't really been following his reasoning,”_ M'gann answered sheepishly _._

“ _Why not? Isn't that your home?”_

“ _No Earth is. My brother is here, my friends are here.”_

“ _Of course,”_ Karen answered softly.

Silence followed. It would have been tense if it hadn't been broken by gunfire.

“ _Either that's our shipment or it's something more important,”_ Karen said as she raced towards the sound and out of the building.

“ _Agreed.”_

Outside the LexCorp building it was chaos. Unarmed office workers were running for cover. Several men in sharp black suits were on the ground dead. The remaining few waved guns around, pointing at shadows and rooftops but never firing. Karen recognized them as being part of the Bertinelli crime family.

“ _I think I can stop the sniper,”_ M'gann said.

She flew off, still invisible. Karen darted through the chaos to see if there was anyone she could help. However, it seemed like the shots had instantaneously killed their targets.

And as Karen flew through the remaining mobsters she caught sight of the shipment. An inhibitor collar. Those things were highly regulated, and those regulation had only become more stringent since they were used in the kidnapping of Blue Beetle, Impulse, and Beast Boy.

 _M'gann_ , Karen thought, _I've found the shipment_.

M'gann never responded. And Karen felt her stomach drop. The psychic link dropping was not a good sign.

The gunfire had stopped but still M'gann did not return. So Karen circled out, unsure of where to go since M'gann was invisible when she left.

As the minutes ticked by with an uneasy calm, Karen grew more worried. She dropped the pretense of a stealth mission and began calling for Miss Martian.

M'gann was not the first person to hear her. But rather it was members of Lex's staff, who had just begun to come out of hiding.

“Damn Young Justice, did you think you could assassinate Luthor?”

“Get out of here, before you destroy Gotham!”

Karen winced but at least they were loud.

“ _What happened?”_ M'gann's shaky voice filtered in through a reestablished link.

“ _Unhappy locals,”_ Karen answered quickly, “ _what happened to you? You sound like you saw a ghost?”_

“ _Maybe,”_ M'gann's voice became stronger, “ _but we should go before someone breaks out the bug spray.”_

Karen snorted, but followed her advice.

They got to the watchtower without incident. And when they stepped off of the Zeta platform, Mal was there to meet them.

“Hey Beautiful, Miss M,” he said with a wave, “the PR guy is calling a meeting for the team...”

Karen and M'gann looked at each other and rolled their eyes.

“What?” Mal asked.

“I've got to take a raincheck, baby, thesis and all,” Karen explained, before reaching up and kissing Mal, “So how about you fill me in at dinner tonight? Say 7 PM at that diner you like?”

“That sounds wonderful,” he said, smiling, “Miss M, you coming?”

M'gann waved him off, “I want to write up a report for Kaldur.”

“You want help?” Karen asked, “It was our mission.”

M'gann waved her off, “You've got work to do, and I can handle it.”

“Thanks,” Karen said as both M'gann and Mal left in opposite directions.

She then went into the rec room. She spread her notes and papers out on one available desk. She hadn't gotten a new laptop, but it was easier to finish research without the distraction of the internet. She also very purposefully got out the team comm and muted it. It was distracting, and she was on the watchtower, so she'd get a physical call if anything important happened.

She only got through half of a paper before she was distracted again.

“Hey Karen,” Billy Batson exclaimed, grinning at her as he dropped his school bag next to hers, “how’s it going?”

“The usual,” she answered, not looking up, “senior thesis, final projects, Grad School and Job applications.”

“Oh man, intense,” he said sitting next to her, “how do you do it?”

Karen resisted the urge to rub her head, “lots of focus.”

“Oh,” Billy fell silent for a moment and then continued in a quieter voice, “when you have time do you think I could maybe talk to you about it?”

She sighed and closed her books, “what are you worried about?”

“School I guess, I mean I’m doing ok-ish, but I’m worried.”

“Hold up,” Karen held up a hand, “‘ok-ish’ as in not an F or as in not an A?”

Billy rubbed the back of his head, “Well when you put it like that it doesn’t sound so bad.”

“So what? All B’s”

“And a C,” he added softly.

“But you’re not about to fail it?”

“No, but I really like Mr. Marte, and I feel like I’m letting him down.”

Karen gave him a smile, “Believe me I know that feeling, but if you are doing your best you are not letting him down.”

“But I’m not,” Billy sighed, “I mean I could do more if I had more time. I mean saving the world is way more important, but I can’t help but feel bad.”

“It’s alright, everyone gets crunched for time,” she shrugged, “even me.”

“I know, I just don’t want to stop seeing my friends all together.”

“Then don’t. Listen if you want I can help you with making a schedule and study sessions if you happen need them. It may help and make you feel less guilty about everything.”

“Yeah, that sounds great,” Billy said with a grin.

 

* * *

“What we need,” Max said, looking at the team, “is someone to represent the team. Someone to show the world that the team is a group of young heroes, instead of a strike team. I will meet one-on-one with everyone to consider who would be the best choice.”

Robin stepped forward, and raised a hand tentatively. “I will have to step out of the consideration process; I have to work with Batman, and we work in the shadows. Too much press will hurt our operations.”

Max’s face briefly flickered to a frown, before returning to its ever present smile.

“Understandable. However, everyone else should be prepared to come in and talk with me. These meetings will also be about strategies to improve public relations, so even if you do not think you are the best choice, it will be important to come. I will be getting back to all of you shortly about when we can meet,” he said, and walked out.

Cassie walked over to her boyfriend, and said, “What do you think? Wonder Girl, the new face of Young Justice?”

“Cassie, you haven’t even had your interview yet,” Tim said, smiling as he put a hand on her shoulder. “But I don’t see a reason for Max not to choose you, former Wonder Woman Fan Club president.”

“Thank you. I mean, I don’t think I’ll be perfect at the PR stuff, but I really want to do it and help the team out in other ways than punching things, and I’m no detective.” Cassie then glanced up at Tim’s face. “What about you, though? I know Batman did some press stuff when he was leader of the League. Is it related to your new case?”

Tim took his hand off her shoulder, and turned slightly away to stare at the ground. “It’s starting to get into personal territory for Batman, and if the guy is who we think he is- well, he’s already smart and dangerous.”

Cassie took a few steps forward, and put an arm around his shoulders, turning him in towards her. “Hey, I’m sure you can bag him. You are Robin, and one of the smartest guys I know. And Batman is- well- Batman.”

“Thanks, Cassie. You always know what to say,” Robin said, smiling.

“You’re welcome,” she said, kissing him on the cheek before going over to the computer to start her resume.

 

 


	2. Divide and Conquer

“I wish you didn't have to go” Beast Boy said through watery eyes, hugging M’gann on the Zeta platform.

M'gann returned the embrace, “It won't be long, I promise. But if you really want me to I can stay.”

Gar pushed away. He forced a smile.

“No, it's important that you go. Wonder Woman is an excellent diplomat, but she needs cultural guidance for interacting with both Green and White Martians.”

M'gann sighed, “I know. Establishing communications between Earth and Mars is important. But we will only need to be there until Ferris Air finishes the replacement communications satellite.”

J'onn put a hand on M'gann's shoulder, “It should not take too long; according to Hal Jordan, the new satellite is close to being finished.”

Standing just off of the platform, Cassie was hugging Wonder Woman.

“I'm going to miss you,” Cassie said, “but I cannot think of a better diplomat to represent humanity.”

“I suppose I am the most logical choice for this mission. But still…” Diana muttered.

“What is it?” Cassie whispered.

“Nothing that important.” Diana smiled. “Be careful, Cassie.”

Cassie looked at Diana, and nodded. “Of course. Be safe, Diana. And remember to call.”

“Of course,” Diana said inclining her head towards Cassie, “May the Gods be with you.”

With her goodbyes said, Diana strode, head held high, to join the two Martians on the Zeta Platform. Any hesitancy about the diplomatic mission was dropped along with the Zeta shield. For she knew as they disappeared in a beam of light that this mission would require her full attention.

* * *

 

Karen stared at the textbook in front of her. She re-read the first paragraph for the fifth time. But it was useless, the only thing she could focus on was what Mal had told her earlier in the day.

She pushed back from the table in the watchtower's rec room and looked around. It was empty except for Jaime who was laying on the couch holding a copy of 1984 open above his head.

“Hey Jaime?” Karen called.

Jaime responded by dropping the book in a move that could almost be described as gleeful and turning to face her.

“Yeah?”

“Is it true that M'gann left on that Mars mission?”

Jaime nodded.

Karen sighed, “does that make sense to you?”

He shrugged, “Yeah...”

He sharply turned his head towards his shoulder, “yes it does... YES it does... No it does because Wonder Woman is an excellent diplomat, but she needs cultural guidance for interacting with both Green and White Martians.”

“Yeah, that is exactly what Mal said.”

Jaime grinned as if he had proved a point, but Karen was more concerned with the hems of his hoodie.

“Um Blue,” she said, “you're looking a little, well, blue.”

Jaime's eyes widened. He jumped up and clasped his hands over the armor peaking out of his sleeves.

“I'm ok,” he said nervously, “but I think I need to go now.”

He was out the door and halfway to the Zeta platforms before she could respond.

Karen turned back to her text book. She read the paragraph for a sixth time without taking in a word.

She groaned and leaned back. This was too weird.

“Ahh, Karen Beecher, perhaps if you are taking a break from your studies, you can meet with me?”

Karen jerked up. She turned to see the PR guy, Max Lord, standing at the doorway to the rec room.

He smiled at her, “why don't you come down to my office.”

Max walked into his office, with Karen close behind.He took a seat at his desk and motioned for Karen to take one opposite. She didn't and Max just sighed and moved on with his spiel.

“Now, Karen, about the position of Team Diplomat…”

“Is that what this is about?” Karen asked.

She didn't meet Max's eyes, but rather scanned over his desk. New articles, photographs, and drafts of press releases were scattered about. It all seemed like normal office supplies, well all but one thing. Billy Batson's report card.

“Of course,” he answered, forcing Karen to shift her focus back to him, “a smart and capable young lady such as yourself would be an excellent representative.”

Karen grinned. But before she could get out an 'I know', an alarm went off on her watch.

She jumped, checked the time and moved towards the door.

“Sorry, Max, but I'm about to be late to lab,” she said, “I don’t think I’d be able to be the team rep. Lab work, senior thesis, and then after graduation I'm sure I'll be even busier with grad school, or a job, or both.”

Karen didn't wait for Max to respond. She rushed to the rec room, gathered her books in her bag and then ran to the Zeta beams.

She arrived at Doctor Palmer's lab just a minute before she was supposed to meet him. Still out of breath she fumbled to get the microscope over her work set up before he arrived.

“Karen? Are you alright?”

“Hmm? Oh yes, I’m fine, Doctor Palmer. Just trying to get the equipment to work,” Karen said, sheepishly.

Doctor Palmer looked over at his student, “Karen, the microscope works better after you remove the cap.”

Karen leaned forward and groaned, rubbing her eyes.

“Listen, why don't you take the night off?”

“Uh- what? Why?”

Her mentor smiled. “If anyone knows how much superheroing and experimenting can take a toll on you, I do. Sometimes, when you’re swamped with work, you just need to give yourself a good night of sleep. That way you can be more productive, and get your work done more efficiently and with better results. Take the night off; your biophysics experiment will still be there tomorrow.”

“Thanks, Doctor Palmer,” she said, “I'll do that.”

But back at her apartment she found that she could not do that. M'gann leaving despite what she said. The fact that Mal and Jaime both explained it using the exact same wording. Billy's school records on Max's desk. Something just seemed off. And she could not get to sleep while those things bounced in her head.

Karen sighed and dug out an empty lab notebook. In the corner she initialed, numbered and dated the page 12/01/16. But it was not Biophysics that she was recording.

“ _Wonder Woman is an excellent diplomat, but she needs cultural guidance for interacting with both Green and White Martians.” both Mal and Jaime used these exact same words to explain M'gann's unexpected departure._

_Jaime's beetle seemed to disagree._

_To Do: See if other team members describe it the same way._

_Max Lord had the personal information of Billy Batson on his desk, including school contact information._

_Question: Why would a PR rep need the school information of a League member?_

* * *

 

“So, how’s life with the team?” Tye says, dragging the elephant in the room out into the open.

“Never a dull moment,” Virgil says, grinning. “Even though my powers aren’t exactly the same as Black Lightning, I’ve been able to pick up a few new tricks. And being able to stop gang violence in my home turf makes me feel like I’m doing some real good.”

Ed rolled the dice for the game (a mish-mash of monopoly, life, and risk, with house rules only they understood), and said, “With all those press conferences trying to rebrand _Young Justice_ as a group of ‘heroes next door’ I’m surprised they haven’t tried to get you front and center, _hermano_.”

Virgil snorted. “Believe me the new PR guy suggested I be team representative. But it just didn’t seem like a good fit.”

“Well, at least you haven’t sold out completely,” Ed muttered.

“Sold out?”

“Dude, just because he joined the team doesn’t mean he sold out,” Tye said.

“Yeah yeah, some _members_ of the team are great,” Ed argued, “just have you seen the press conferences? They’re beyond bad.”

“I don’t think you get it,” Tye responded angrily, ignoring the looks from both Asami and Virgil, “I’ve seen people accuse Jaime of being evil to his face, after he saved them. And if all it takes are some cheesy interviews to make that stop happening, I’m all for it.”

Ed sighed, “but they are not going to make it stop happening. Look if they just played the team’s dismissal of Arsenal over and over, the team would still look better than they do now.”

“Tye, Ed is right,” Asami cut in, “Godfrey plays them to prove his point.”

Tye turned to her, head tilted to the side, “Since when do you watch G. G. Godfrey?”

“He repeats the same thing many time,” She shrugged, “It is good English practice.”

Tye laughed. Ed relaxed, and Asami took the opportunity to change the conversation.

“Virgil, how are thing at home?”

“Uh, good,” Virgil said. “My family still gives me odd looks when I use my powers to grab the keys or a soda, and Richie and Freida are still getting used to the idea of me being Static, but otherwise fine. How about you and Tye?”

Virgil winked, but Asami ignored the gesture.

“Tye and Jaime help with English,” Asami said, “I am in the same class as them.”

“Yeah, thanks to summer classes, Jaime, and tutoring, we’re actually pretty up to date,” Tye said, “I’m actually going to graduate on time.”

He then smirked at Virgil, “and seeing as we’re currently at our house, I guess you can see how everything else is going.”

“So your mom is cool with your girlfriend living with you?” Virgil asked.

“Surprisingly yes.”

Ed shrugged, “She’s probably being as careful as my dad is to make me feel welcome. Not that I mind it, it’s just a bit odd, him being so… attentive?”

“I’ll bet,” Virgil added with a smirk, and they all laughed at the memories of being in Star Labs.

“Has anyone heard Arsenal?” Asami asked.

Virgil shook his head, but Ed sat straight up. “Guess who had a call from him?” Ed sing-songed.

“How is he? What’s he doing?” Tye asked, leaning in with everyone else to pay attention to Ed.

“He said he’s being a solo hero, going on the road, sometimes getting money and stuff as a reward, sometimes he steals it from the bad guys if he can’t return it,” Ed said. “He’s looking for a place to settle, though.”

“If you talk to him again, can you tell him that he’s always welcome in Dakota?” Virgil said.

“And El Paso! I mean, Jaime would be totally cool with having him in town as well,” Tye said.

“Runaways stick together, even when not running,” Asami added.

“I’ll pass the message along,” Ed said, “and give him your numbers.”

“Thanks, Ed,” Tye said.

* * *

 

Cassie stood in front of Max’s office. Her feet were firmly planted and she held a resume printed in glossy ink on thick cardstock in her right hand. She had spent hours writing and revising it, not printing it off until she had approval from Batgirl that it did look professional.

Everything was ready, except Max still hadn’t called her in for a meeting. He went out of his way to track Virgil down to asked him, but whenever he saw her in the rec room he would just ignore her.

She gave three crisp knocks on Max’s office door. She’d show him that she was perfect for this job.

Max was frowning when he answered the door, but Cassie did not wait to hand him her resume.

“Sir, I just wanted to make sure that you knew I was interested in being the team representative.”

“Oh,” he said, losing the frown and leaning forward slightly, “What makes you think you can do this job.”

Cassie stood with her back ramrod straight, and said, “Well, I have the time to put in extra hours for the team. I am good at public speaking. I was president of the Wonder Woman fanclub so I know how this sort of thing works a little. I like working with people. And Wonder Woman has been teaching me about diplomacy. I can totally do this!”

Max gave a gentle smile, seemingly relaxing his shoulders. “Your determination is remarkable, Cassandra. However I am looking for someone a bit more even tempered for the harsher questions. Besides, you don’t want to jeopardize your secret identity by having your face plastered all over the news, do you? Why don’t you come back in a few years. Maybe then you will be ready.”

He took a step back and closed the door on her. Cassie blinked, bit her lip, and raced to the training room where she spent the next two hours pounding the sturdiest punching bag she could find.

* * *

 

“Jaime, I’m so glad to see you.” Max said with a huge smile, looking up from the assortment of papers in front of him after a quick glance at a photo on his desk. “Have you reconsidered being on TV? Because you could do a lot of good as team representative.”

Jaime sighed, and shook his head. “No, I just- it brings back bad memories of being trapped in my body, forced to be a puppet for the Reach. Besides, I’m not the best at public speaking anyway. I would probably destroy the image that Dan and Ted built up.”

Max gently shook his head. “That’s what I’m here to help with, Jaime. I want to make everyone on the League and Team better at managing their public image. And knowing Ted as I did, I know he would be proud of you, and encourage you not to let your fear keep you chained down.”

[ _The Maxwell Lord is attempting to coerce you into performing an action you do not wish to do. Activating sonic cannon.]_

“Wait, no!” Jaime whispered, shoving his hand into his pocket, “we talked about this, no taking over to summon a weapon.”

Looking over at Max, Jaime put his free hand on his neck and said, “That’s another reason. The scarab has a mind of his own, so I can only imagine how bad it would look if he decided that the interview was a threat. Best case I start shouting at myself. Worst case I summon a weapon in front of Gordon Godfrey.”

Max lazily waved it off, and said, “If you are sure. Although Jaime that was not the only reason I asked you to my office. I remember you saying that you didn’t know much about Ted?”

Jaime shifted in his seat. “Only what I looked up online, and the occasional mention by some of the other heroes. He was a genius inventor, great business man, and one of the best heroes even without powers.”

Max cocked an eyebrow in surprise. “That’s it? None of his fellow superheroes shared any stories with you?”

Jaime rubbed his arm, partly out of embarrassment and partly to tell the scarab to stop making the armor creep out. “Superboy said that Ted had a sense of humor, but that’s it.”

“Jaime, Ted was extremely creative, and I never met a CEO who stood up for his inventors and workers as much as he did. Like you, he really cared for the citizens he protected. He was as smart as Batman, but because he actively cracked jokes, even in the darkest of times, the League never recognized it.”

“But that is just my view of him. He was a man that you had to meet to understand. And while I can’t bring back the dead, I think I can help you get a connection to him.”

Max reached into his drawer, and as Jaime kept the scarab from trying to blast him, Max took out a slightly worn but well cared for notebook, and placed it in front of Jaime.

Jaime looked down at it, gave a slight frown, looked up at Max, and at the slight nod Max gave, Jaime picked it up.

“What is it?” he asked, carefully opening it.

“Ted’s personal notebook. I managed to get it from the Justice League’s archives. Ted never gave his superhero items to anyone in his will, but who better to have it than his successor? Now you can see the type of man Ted really was, in his own words. I believe it also contains a great deal of advice on being a superhero. I know it is not the same as having him here with you. But at least now you’ll know he would be proud of you.”

“Thank you,” Jaime said, his mouth suddenly dry. “I’ll treasure it, memorize it cover to cover!”

Max looked carefully over at Jaime with pride dancing in his eyes, and said, “I have no doubt you will.”

Jaime left Max’s office, clutching the notebook tightly. He relaxed, looked over his shoulder, and said, “What was that all about?”

[ _To what are you referring._ ]

“That’s twice in the last week you tried to summon armor without my permission. I thought we agreed you’d only do that in case of an active threat on my life.”

_[The Maxwell Lord is a threat.]_

“Why?”

_[He has gained significant influence within the Justice League and Young Justice in a relatively rapid amount of time, people trust him too easily, and those capable of reading his mind are off on a mission of indeterminate length.]_

“So it’s because people trust him too easily? Scarab, that’s nothing concrete. He hasn’t done anything wrong, and has just been helpful. Besides, I trust him.”

_[Acknowledged. However, you also trusted the Green Beetle.]_

Jaime sighed, and put one hand in his hair. “Fine. If it makes you happy, I won’t have any more private meetings with him, okay? Just no more random sonic cannons, _hermano_.”

_[Understood, Jaime.]_

* * *

 

Billy sat in the empty room, and checked over the rubric again before looking at his project. He had the physical properties, normal uses, pictures, and creative aspects of the it down, he was sure of it. His project on Gallium would be the best project his chemistry teacher ever saw.

His focus was so intense that Max had to cough before Billy noticed him.

“What are you working on, kiddo?” Max asked, all friendly smiles.

Billy shifted in his seat. Normally Max only felt off when Billy was in his Captain Marvel form. But right now his brief time on the street made him read Max’s smile as more sinister. The type officials would get when they tried to convince him to do something that was only in their best interest, not his.

“Just a school project; I want to get back on the honor roll, see if I can get straight A’s,” Billy said.

Max nodded. “A great and noble goal; but it must be hard with all the superhero work you do, and you can hardly add it to a college application as an extra curricular.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t do my work as Captain Marvel for myself; I do it for everyone who gets looked over and needs someone to protect them. I do it for the little guys.”

“Well, even then, you do need to take some time off for yourself. You don’t have to sacrifice your future when there are other superheroes who can put in some extra time for you. If you need time off to focus on your grades, don’t be afraid to request it.”

“I don’t know,” Billy hesitated

Max casually dabbed at his nose, as the lightest amount of blood trickled down. “But it would be better for you if you didn’t turn into Captain Marvel until you are able to make straight A’s.”

Billy nodded. “Uh, right.”

Max left the room and Billy gathered his stuff. He had to get back to work and with all the distractions on the watchtower, there was no way he could make an A on his project.

He also had to make sure his other homework was up to snuff. It was times like this that made him wish Mary went to the same school he did, or that Freddie was at least in the same grade.

He arrived at the Zeta Tubes just as Karen was stepping out, bag in hand.

“Hey Billy, how’s studying going? Is the new plan working for you?” She asked.

“Uh? Oh yeah, it’s really helpful! But I still have to take off from League duties for the next couple of weeks.”

Karen stood stock still, taken aback. “Really? Why?”

“Well, finals are coming up, and the schedule you gave me is only going to help me pass, not Ace my classes. I don’t want to sacrifice my future, so for now it might be better if I didn’t turn into Captain Marvel. Just until my grades are up, I’m never gonna give up being Cap. But until then, Mary and Freddie can cover Fawcett.”

“Alright, if you are sure,” Karen said slowly, “Good luck, Billy.”


	3. Hidden Agenda

“Uh, you wanted to see me?” Bart said, carefully stepping inside Max’s office.

“Yes Bart, I did. It’s about being the team representative.”

Bart’s face dropped, looking nervous. “Look, I know that the whole ‘being from a bad future that doesn’t exist’ might put a stopper in things. But gramps is really good at this stuff, so I really think that I could-”

“Kid Flash, relax. I am choosing you to be the representative; just listen to me, and you’ll do fine.”

Max’s nose had several drops of blood under it, but Bart didn’t pay them any mind as he vibrated from vibrated in excitement.

“Crash!” Bart exclaimed glancing towards the door, “CanItelleveryonenoworisitabigsecret?ImeanIcankeepasecretbutIdon’twantto.OhmanIcan’twaittotellJaimeandTerRobinandeveryone”

“Bart,” Max commanded, “repeat that. But slower this time.”

“Can I tell everyone now or is it a big secret?”

“It is not a secret,” Max answered with a small wave, “Why don’t you go ahead and spread the news.”

Bart raced out of Max’s office. He circled the watchtower twice before he found who is was looking for.

“Guess what, her-man-o!” Bart exclaimed, stopping in front of Jaime and puffing out his chest, “I’m the team rep!”

Jaime grinned, “Really? Congratulations! That’s an awesome surprise.”

“Hey, surprise? Why didn’t you think I would get in?” Bart said pointing a finger in Jaime’s face.

Jaime took a step back and threw his hands up.

“Sorry, sorry, It’s just that well.. I mean Cassie was applying and everyone… It’s just I hear she gets diplomacy lessons from Wonder Woman. Plus, that whole future spoilers thing.”

“So you don’t think I can do it?” Bart asked slowly, frowning at Jaime.

“No no, I mean, I do think you can it’s just…”

“It’s just that you think Cassie can do it better? Then why didn’t she get it, huh?”

Jaime opened his mouth and then snapped it closed. But that was enough to get Bart thinking.

“She turned it down because she had to take care of stuff with Wonder Woman gone,” Bart said softly.

Jaime gave a slight shrug and Bart sunk down to the floor, and put his head in his hands.

“Just when I thought I was getting something on my own merit. But of course not. I’m not trained, and I’m certainly not Gramps. I’ve just been messing up since I got here. And I thought things were finally turning around.”

Jaime sat beside Bart, hand on his shoulder.

“Hey you saved the future didn’t you?”

Bart shrugged, “I guess, But I also let them get you twice. And if I had just slowed down with Wally…”

Jaime threw his hands over Bart’s shoulders and pulled him into a hug. He was silent for a moment.

“I’ve been told,” Jaime said softly, “that if you had also slowed down the MFD wouldn’t have been stopped in time to save the Earth. You did the right thing. Like you always do.”

“So how should I do the right thing now?” Bart asked, “It’s not fair to Cassie or the team to get the back-up.”

“You know how stubborn and devoted to the team Cassie is, _hermano,_ ” Jaime said firmly, “she would never give up a position, no matter how stressful, unless she was 100% sure that her replacement would do the job to her standards.”

Bart smiled, “and what about you, do you think I can do it.”

“Well, you were the one that kept the team focused on saving me instead of just stopping me when I was on mode.”

Jaime laughed and continued speaking, “So I’m sure it won’t be a problem for you to convince the rest of the world that heroes are actually heroes.”

“You’re absolutely right, her-man-o,” Bart said with a full grin, “So do you want to help me spread the good news?”

“Of course.”

* * *

 

Tigress quickly surveyed the scene. Her squad was responding to reports of a break-in at S.T.A.R. Labs. The doors and windows were covered with metal grates, and the alarms were blaring with red light. So whoever the thieves were, they weren’t doing a very good job.

She assessed the rest of her team. Kid Flash fidgeted on the balls of his feet waiting for the first hint of his mission. Beside him was Blue Beetle, who kept nervously glancing over at the assembling crowd instead of their objective. And finally Wonder Girl stood on the other side of Blue Beetle. Her lips were pressed into a tight frown and her normal excitement at being on a mission was nowhere to be seen.

Tigress weighed her options quickly.

“Kid Flash, Wonder Girl, you two are on perimeter. I don’t want anyone getting away. Blue Beetle, with me. We’re going in.” she barked out.

Nobody bothered to even nod to confirm. Kid Flash and Wonder Girl rushed forward. Between his laps of the building and her overhead surveillance every potential exit was covered.

With a quick motion Tigress made sure that they both paid particular attention to the front door. That was the entry point for her and Blue Beetle, and as such she had disabled the lockdown precautions on it.

The hallways within S.T.A.R. Labs were illumined with harsh red flashing lights. The random shadows that they caused made it difficult to pick out the movement of thieves. And she couldn’t rely on hearing either, since even though the alarm was not deafening, it was more than enough to cover footsteps and distant conversation.

Then again, Tigress had planned for this.

“Blue, can you get a location on the intruders?”

It was only after her question that Blue Beetle transformed his arm into a scanner. But he had an answer quickly.

“I’m reading three heat signatures, two hundred feet over, down the hallway and the fourth room on the left. My guess is, they’re trying to enter the vault.”

“Okay, that room only has one exit, if we can get there before they notice us we can box them in.”

Blue Beetle raised his hand, and then quickly put it down.

“There’s one more thing,” he said nervously, “I can’t scan what’s in the vault.”

She frowned, “Well everything S.T.A.R. keeps there is dangerous, so let's get there before our intruders get a new toy.”

Blue Beetle nodded and they raced towards the room.

“Any idea what we are up against?” Tigress asked as they ran.

“I’m not sensing any advanced tech,” Blue Beetle said as they reached the room, “And they read as ordinary humans, so no surprises.”

As he finished speaking the door flew open.

“Just because we don’t have powers, don’t mean we don’t have any surprises,” the first man out of the room shouted.

He held up a small device, and before either Tigress or Blue Beetle could react he pressed a button on it.

Tigress did not feel or see anything happen. And she was about to taunt the man over his faulty assumption when Blue Beetle crashed to the ground, holding his head and screaming in pain.

“Blue!” Tigress shouted, as the remaining two burglars exited the room.

She rushed forward, elbowing one of the newcomers in the stomach and kicking the legs out from under the other one.

She then turned her attention to the one with the device. He backpedaled and tried to close the door on her. But he was far too slow.

In a well practiced movement, Tigress leapt behind him and placed him in a headlock. She was easily able to snatch the device before she threw him into a wall.

She didn’t immediately see an off switch on the device, so she did the next best thing and smashed it under her heel.

And with three more swift blows, she made sure the burglars were down for the count.

Then she turned over to Blue Beetle, who was now slowly getting his feet under him.

“What happened?” she asked.

“Apokoliptian tech. It’s incompatible, er, doesn’t mix well with my scarab,” he said, slowly making his way to join her in the room.

Looking around she didn’t have to wonder long where they had gotten it from. The Vault door had been opened and the majority of space within it was devoted to various Apokoliptian devices.

Blue Beetle saw it too.

“You know, I’m not entirely happy about S.T.A.R. stockpiling all of this.”

“Would you rather it be out on the street?” Tigress asked him sharply, “This is where it’s safest.”

“Yeah I felt real safe a minute ago,” Blue Beetle muttered

Tigress paid him no mind, and connected to Wonder Girl and Kid Flash on the comm.

“We’ve subdued the three thieves down here.”

“Copy that, There were two guys outside, and we subdued them,” Wonder Girl responded, hesitating a moment before adding, “Also, the police and press have arrived”

Tigress lifted one of their thieves, and Blue Beetle picked up the other two.

“Perfect,” Tigress gritted out. “Well, I can deal with the police, and KF can deal with the reporters. Wonder Girl, Blue Beetle you two are on prisoner watch until the police pick these bozos up.”

* * *

 

Reporters and gawkers had flocked to S.T.A.R. Labs, packing in so tight that the police were having trouble getting anywhere. Not that that worried Wonder Girl. She easily kept two of the would-be robbers subdued with her lasso, and the other three were stapled to the ground by Blue Beetle.

Blue Beetle was determinedly not making eye contact with any onlooker. Even though they were all way too focused on the team’s newly appointed ‘face’ to even notice them.

Kid Flash, while too far away to hear, seemed to be answering every question with a flippant ease. Wonder Girl couldn’t help but wonder if everybody on the team saw Bart as way more mature than she was. She just didn’t know what she had done wrong. And didn’t know what she could do to prove that she could handle some responsibility.

She was so focused on watching the reporters that she didn’t even notice Blue Beetle move beside her until he spoke.

“Thanks.”

Cassie managed not to jump too much, but her response was still a less than dignified, “huh?”

Jaime rolled his eyes in the bugsuit. “You know what I mean _esé,_ letting KF have this job. It’s really helped get his mind off of, you know.”

Cassie managed not to let Jaime see her deflate. Because she did know that he had been feeling guilty after Wally’s death, and now she felt like a heel for even thinking about being jealous. But still...

“Why’d you assume I let him win?”

“Because the entire team knows that you’d be a shoo-in,” Jaime replied with a shrug.

Like he had just said the most obvious thing.

“And what if I didn’t?”

He looked at her and rolled his eyes again. “He’s not mad about it, um anymore. So you really don’t have to keep up the act.”

Cassie let out a harsh sigh, “Right.”

Jaime didn’t seem to notice and they waited in relative silence watching their captives until the police were finally able to get to them.

Again Jaime never made eye contact. He just dissolved the staples off of his captives one at a time, and wordlessly let her deal with them.

And Cassie did deal with the police, she gave her statement, handed over evidence, and made sure each thief was accounted for.

Once that was done the two of them moved away from the crowd. Bart was still entertaining the reporters questions, so they could not leave until he was done. Even if Jaime was looking supremely uncomfortable as he kept his gaze firmly focused on the grass below them.

And it was Cassie who broke the silence by asking, “have you been to Black Canary?”

“Why?” he replied quickly, the question gaining a slight edge.

“I guess I just want...” Cassie shrugged and looked away, “I mean Wonder Woman is away and I just kinda want someone to talk to.”

Jaime fell back into an awkward smile, “Oh of course. And she is, I mean ... dude seriously? Yeah well, you say that about everyone… Yes you do.”

Cassie pulled back when Jaime’s tone changed to an annoyed tease. She took a second before she leaned in and rapped on one of the scarab’s prongs.

“Wait it still talks? Are the Reach back?”

“No.” Jaime said quickly, “I mean yeah, the Scarab talks, but no the Reach aren’t back. It’s not... it’s not like that”

“I see, and what’s it saying now?”

“Um paraphrasing,” Jaime said with a shrug, “It doesn’t think you should talk with Canary, ‘not optimal’.”

“And why is that?”

“No dude. _You_ are paranoid. Fine. I’ll say _that_.” Jaime sighed and reached up to give air quotes around his next statement, “Red Tornado is more logical and less likely to be swayed by the words of others.”

Cassie nodded even as Jaime began to argue to himself again over not accusing people without evidence. She would speak with Red Tornado as soon as possible, he might be able to help her see why she had been completely overlooked.

* * *

 

“-and I know it’s petty, but I really can’t see why I wasn’t even considered!” Cassie ranted, her hands outstretched as she slumped in her chair. “Is it something obvious that I overlooked? Is it something only older people can see? Well?”

Red Tornado sat silently in the chair, hard red metal looking out of place on the comfy seat. “Your frustration is extremely valid; there is no logical reason for Bart to be chosen over you.”

Cassie drew her eyebrows in and stuck out her lower lip. “Then why?”

“That is an extremely good question. I shall look into it; meanwhile, focus on your training and leading by example. According to Kaldur, you are ready to be squad leader.”

“I- really?”

“You are becoming an excellent hero, Wonder Girl. I look forward to the day you become a member of the League.”

Cassie blushed from the praise as Red Tornado left the room, making a mental note to thank Jaime.

* * *

 

In the Rec room on the Watchtower, Karen was slumped in a chair, reading her textbook to herself as the TV blared. “This process works by…” she muttered.

“Hey, Karen, could you shrink down and change the plugs behind the TV?” Gar asked.

“Gar, I’m not as strong when I’m shrunken down. I wouldn’t be able to push the plug in. Besides, what do you need to change plugs for?” Karen said, mechanical pencil tapping against her yellow and black suit.

Cassie turned around. “We were playing a game on the Playstation, now we want to play one on the Wii.”

Karen rolled her eyes. “Get it yourself, Gar, change into a lemur or something for all I care.”

“A lemur! That’s it!” Gar then shapeshifted, and used his smaller digits to manipulate the area between the TV and the wall.

Karen closed her textbook, and got up to find somewhere that did not have a group of loud teenagers playing videogames.

She began wandering the hallways, listening to see if there was somewhere quiet on this satellite.

“Look Guy, you’re not even the best Green Lantern on Earth, so you can just-” Hal shouted.

Karen sighed, and walked along even more quickly.

“I know we haven’t heard from the Mars mission in a bit, but no news could be good news, so I’m not that worried-” Superman said to Icon.

Karen grimaced. Wasn’t there anywhere on the Watchtower where a person could get some peace and quiet?

“Hey, what are you doing here?” Hawkman said. “You’re supposed to be in the team-only areas.”

“Right, I’ll just get out of your way,” Karen said. When she was far enough away with her back to him, she rolled her eyes. It wasn’t like she was going to be loud or disruptive.

Finally, she found a nice, large room with nobody there. She sat down, and got her book out to read, when she heard metallic footsteps from outside.

Karen sighed. Getting peace and quiet seemed near impossible. However, instead of getting another lecture, Karen decided to just shrink down and hide in a vent with her book. She was about to focus on her reading again, but then she heard some voices from the room.

“Wonder Girl is clearly the best choice for a public representative, if any. And then there is the matter of having our covert operations team have a public name and a representative for the press. When the team was founded, we decided to make it covert so that the members of said team would be safe from the public eye when not working with their mentors. I do not think Maxwell Lord is good for the team,” Red Tornado said.

“Red Tornado, I understand your concerns, but we should investigate some more before jumping to conclusions,” Batman said.

It was then that Max came in. “Red Tornado, you seem to be having some issues. I think you might have a circuit malfunction. After all, it would be expected for an android as old as you to have some problems.” Blood started flowing from Max’s nose. “Bruce, he might need to be shut down for a while, so that any repairs can be made.”

“My circuits are fine, and I am operating at full capacity. This merely proves that you are a detriment to both the League and team, and need to be-”

The light behind Red Tornado’s eyes dimmed, and Max turned to Batman. “Thank you.”

Karen looked at the scene, and could only say, “Shit!”

It was then that Batman looked towards the vent, and Karen began flying through it, glad she had been wearing her suit the entire time. Max shouting “Atom come out, we just need to talk. Let me explain what is going on,” chased her down the vent as she left her textbook behind.

She raced back to the locker room, tearing through her book bag until she came to her notebook. She jotted down date, time, location, and observation, as quickly as she could. But even after it was written she still worried. If Max could force Batman to turn off a friend she had now doubt that he could force her to forget a notebook.

And that was unacceptable.

She dug out her flash drive that contained her senior thesis and a key. She used the key to carve out a rectangle within the notebook and placed the flash drive within it. Then she replaced everything in her bag.

Just one thing left to do.

She rushed out of the locker room to one of the team's work computer. Her thesis's hard copy was easy to scrub from the network. But the online copy seemed to take forever to load. And her relief at seeing it finally pop up on the screen was very short lived.

“Karen, just the girl I wanted to see.” Max's voice came from behind her, “why don't you delete whatever it is you are working on.”

Karen did so.

Max smiled, ”Good, now come with me, I need to talk with you for a second.”

Karen couldn’t help but follow.


	4. Investigation

“Yeah but I can’t just accuse him without... so? You’re suspicious of everyone...” Jaime whispered over his shoulder, ignoring the stack of papers and blueprints at his feet and the journal in his hand, “Just because you’re paranoid... where did you even learn that quote. Dude nevermind...”

Jaime let out a short aggravated sigh and leaned back into the rec room couch.

“Yes I think you might be overreacting...When have you ever?” He gently tapped his head with his fist, “you tried to get me to fry Tye’s grandfather.”

“Blue?”

Jaime jumped at the interruption, turning to see Karen sitting at one of the tables. She had a notebook out and a pen held thoughtfully in her hands.

“Oh sorry.” He rubbed the back of his neck, “I er... didn’t hear you come in. If you’re trying to study I can be quiet or leave.”

Karen put her pen down in her book and closed it, “It’s fine. I take it you’re talking to the bug?”

Jaime laughed nervously “Yeah, I mean we’re fine. It’s just overly cautious, you know?”

“Who is he worried about now?”

“It’s not important, you’ll think I’m weird.”

Karen raised an eyebrow and leveled her gaze at him.

“Weirder than normal I mean.” Jaime amended.

“The bug might be alien but it is still an A.I. right?” Karen asked, leaving the table and joining Jaime on the couch, balancing her notebook on her knees, “Kinda like Red Tornado?”

“Scarab wishes me to inform you that it is way more advanced than Red Tornado.” He rolled his eyes, “But yeah, you’re right.”

“Bet I’m right about another thing too,” Karen said, her voice dropping to a whisper, “the person that it’s so nervous about, that would be Max Lord right?”

His eyes went wide, “Yeah. How’d you know?”

Karen glanced around the empty rec room, “Can you access Watchtower security footage?”

“Is it creepy if I say yes?” He answered with a nervous grin, “I mean I don’t like spy or anything...”

“But you can,” She deadpanned.

“Yeah.”

She glanced at her notebook, “Hanger 7, Tuesday, 9:24 PM.”

Jaime sat quietly for several moments, and Karen could see his eyes turn orange, even if none of the rest of the armor formed. Then his brows furrowed in confusion, and his eyes returned to normal.

“What do you mean there’s nothing? Don’t they always?” He asked aloud, his voice slowly growing louder,  “Hacked? Who would hack the watchtower... Fine, other than us...”

Karen placed her hand on his shoulder, silencing him.

“It’s fine, but read this”

With that she opened her notebook to the page that the pen marked. Glancing over it one more time, she then handed it off to Jaime. He took it and scanned the page, He gently grabbed the corner of the paper and looked back up at Karen. When she nodded, he flipped through the rest of the pages in the notebook.

“It is all the same handwriting, right?” Karen asked.

“Yeah,” He answered quickly, not looking up at her, “why?”

“I don’t remember writing half of it.” She said in a whisper.

Jaime gave an aggravated glare towards his shoulder, “Yeah, yeah, you told me.”

“Huh?”

“No sorry,” He said, looking at her again, “Scarab’s basking in the glow of being right. So do you think Max is a telepath, or is someone trying to frame him?”

“We have evidence for the first and not the second, what do you think?”

Jaime raised his eyebrows, “Right. So telepath then. What’s the plan?”

“We investigate. Can you find out where Max is on the Watchtower right now?”

Jaime’s eyes glowed yellow again as the Scarab hacked through the Watchtower camera feeds and Zeta records.

“Hmm, for only the second time since Thanksgiving Max isn’t here.”

“So then we don’t know when we’ll get another chance like this, we need to go now.”

Karen quickly wrote the date, December 8th, next to Jaime’s name just in case, and put her journal in her bag, shoving it behind the television.

Jaime nodded as he did the same with Ted’s notes before following Karen out of the room.

They tried to look nonchalant as they made their way down the watchtower’s hallways and towards Max’s office. Sure they had both turned down the position as team rep, but with all the talk about helping members of the team, it shouldn’t be too suspicious for the two of them to go there.

The office door was locked when they got there, but that didn’t stop them for long. Jaime’s scarab unlocked the door easily, and after triple checking that the coast was clear they entered the office. Careful to close the door behind them.  

Then they began to comb through Max’s office in earnest.

“Well, this was a waste of time. I can’t find anything,” Karen cried in frustration, “there’s nothing suspicious here.”

“Maybe not in paper, but let’s see if there’s anything on the computer.” Jaime placed one armored hand on the computer.

The screen rapidly flipped through various files. Finally, it stopped on the Watchtower floorplan.

“Uh, why is this so suspicious?” Jaime asked.

“Because this isn’t the only room assigned to Max! Look, at this connected room. I bet it doesn’t even show up on the Watchtower’s official floor plan.”

Jaime hesitated for a second before responding.

“You’re right, it doesn’t, and it’s not the only one. But the official floorplan was updated about a couple of weeks ago.”

“You mean when Max came here?” Karen asked.

“Right.” Jaime nodded armored fingers over the far wall in Max’s office, “you can get us access to the hidden room, right?”

Based on the direction of Jaime’s gaze, Karen was sure that he had stopped talking to her. Jaime followed the scarab’s instructions and flipped open an access panel under a hanging photo. He plugged his armor in and from there is was only several seconds before lines formed in the wall and a thick sound proof door opened.

Jaime gave Karen a small bow as his armor retreated.

“After you.”

“Thanks, Blue,” Karen said, leading him into the room.

It was small with gray walls and an access panel near the door. Along the walls were workbenches covered in tools that made Jaime’s skin crawl. And in the center of the room was a small clean cot. I looked almost like a hospital bed except for the restraints. That coupled with the room’s other contents made if feel a lot more sinister.

“Blue look at this,” Karen called from one of the work benches, “is it just me or does this technology look like the what those thieves were going after at S.T.A.R. Labs?”

“Yeah, it does” Jaime said, joining her, “But why would it be here?”

“Because it became apparent that they were no longer safe there,” Max spoke sharply, striding into the room from his office, “But the bigger question is why are you two here?”

Jaime raised his arm in front of him and Karen. But despite a stance that Karen recognized, no shield or armor formed. And Jaime stared at his arm wide eyed.

While he was distracted, Karen stepped between him and Max.

“Oh, just looking for a new place to study! You know how it is, having to be on hand for a mission but there being no quiet places,” Karen said, turning up her charm.

“So you came to the room that connects to my quarters?” Max asked, raising one eyebrow.

“Well, if it’s quiet enough for you…” Jaime added, chuckling nervously, as he slowly inched along the wall towards the exit.

“Stay,” Max said to both of them, glowering as his nose began to bleed, “Karen, tell me what you are really doing.”

“Well, we were investigating some strange things that have been going on. And they all seemed to connect back to you,” she said.

“Do you have any concrete evidence?” Max asked, “Or is it just your own theories?”

“Nothing concrete,” Karen stated, “just theories.”

“So Jaime, why don’t you tell me exactly what happened,” Max said, glaring at the teenager.

“Well Karen had some suspicions, so I hacked into the Watchtower’s security recordings to see if there was anything. There wasn’t anything because the security footage was wiped. That and the fact that the scarab has been telling me that you weren’t to be trusted, made me want to investigate. We found this place that wasn’t on the maps. And now that we are here the scarab is shouting in my head about telepathic control and mental recalibration.”

Max sighed, and relaxed. He walked up to Jaime, placing one hand on the boy’s shoulder and the other tilted his chin so the two of them were eye to eye.

“Don’t trust what the scarab says,” He said firmly, blood flowing from his nose, “it is working for the Reach again, and they are trying to control you.”

“No.”

“Yes,” Max answered angrily, “trust me, let me work with the scarab and I will keep you free.”

“No,” Jaime said again his eyes narrowing, “you lie.”

He stepped back, jerking away from Max’s grasp.

“If the scarab was under Reach control, I would know it; feel it. I don’t believe you, Max. And I shouldn’t because you are the one trying to control everyone, aren’t you?”

“I guess the mental recalibration wasn’t something I was doing, but rather something that it was doing to you,” Max said frowning, “and it’s too bad your scarab won’t let me use my powers on you, that would make things a lot easier.”

Jaime grabbed Karen’s arm, pulling her. But Max was faster. He slid a remote out of his pocket and pressed a button. Jaime released Karen’s arm, dropping to his hands and knees and gasping in pain.

“Luckily, I just got the last of my supplies from S.T.A.R.,” he said kneeling over Jaime, “but know that I am not doing this to hurt you, kiddo.”

Max then turned a dial and increased the output on the Apokoliptian device. Jaime dropped to his side and curled in on himself, his screams fading as he fell unconscious.  

Max scooped Jaime up, as one would do to a small child, and gently placed him on the cot.

“Again I am sorry it had to come to this. I really did respect you, and I still do,” he said as he shackled Jaime to the bed, “however, this pushed up my timetable. And hopefully, that scarab of yours can help me out.”

With Jaime contained, Max turned his attention back to Karen.

“Leave, and forget your suspicions and everything you saw here,” he said to her.

Her eyes glazed over as she left. She did not remember Max turning the emitter off. Or looking at him and saying,

“I just need to keep you from armoring up. You being unconscious all the time would just get in the way of the tests.”

* * *

 

Cassie gave the gym’s punching bag another roundhouse kick, causing the metal chain to strain and snap. The bag went flying into the wall where it hit with a resounding thud. With that sound Cassie fell onto her back dramatically and complained to the only other occupant.

“Robin, I am so bored. I feel like I haven't had a mission in forever.”

Tim did not even look away from his computer screen.

“That’s nice.”

Cassie flipped over and glared at him, “you weren't even listening to me.”

“Sorry, sorry,” Tim pushed the computer away, “it’s just that these ‘Red Hood’ murders are getting to me. We don’t even have a solid lead on their identity, whereabouts, or how they choose their victims other than most of them are involved in organized crime.”

“So what you’re saying is we should be getting down on the street and busting some heads until we get a lead?”

The grin that had formed on Cassie quickly deflated when Tim responded.

“You know how Batman is about Gotham.”

Cassie rolled her eyes at that, “He didn’t seem to have a problem when Bee and Miss M investigated LexCorp there.”

“A stealth team on the outskirts of town investigating a league enemy is not the same as getting involved in Gotham affairs.”

Cassie crossed her arms, “yeah well I heard they got involved in Gotham affairs anyway.”

“Exactly,” Tim said returning his attention to his computer screen.

Cassie stood and stretched, before moving behind Tim to look at his screen.

“I could at least help up here then?”

“No, it’s fine. Besides it’ll be boring without an understanding of the Gotham black market.”

“Fine,” Cassie turned on her heel and marched towards the door, “I’ll just find someone else to hang out with. Blue’s always interested in at least _doing_ something.”

* * *

 

Virgil walked into the Watchtower as a man on a mission. He went to the rec room where Karen and Robin were, Karen turning over every cushion and Robin typing on a laptop.

“Have either of you guys seen Jaime recently?” he asked.

“No, I have not. He’s probably in the same place as my bag, textbook, and all my other supplies!”

“Seriously? You have a hardcover textbook? I thought all college students pirated theirs,” Robin said.

Karen glared at Robin, then went back to searching. “Notes needed for classes, my flash drive with important data for my senior thesis, all missing!”

“Is something wrong, Static?” Robin asked.

Virgil shrugged. “Tye hasn’t seen Jaime in a couple of days, and when Tye went to his house his family hasn’t seen him either. They assumed he was on a mission or something, but everyone is worried.”

Karen paused in her searching. “Now that you mention it, I haven’t seen Blue for a bit either.”

“And Cassie was complaining about not being able to find him yesterday. I’ll look into the zeta records, you can ask around to find out who’s last seen him,” Robin said.

“Why don’t you ask Max? I’ll go ask Bart; those two are thick as thieves, after all,” Karen said.

Virgil nodded, and left to find Max’s office. In the hallways, Virgil bumped into the man he was searching for.

“Hey, Mr. Lord, have you seen Blue? He’s been missing for a couple of days.”

Max paused, and looked at Virgil. “Forget about searching for Jaime,” he said, dabbing at his nose.

Later, when Robin asked him how his search went, Virgil only shrugged and said, “What search?”


	5. Forgotten Captive

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter warning for mentions of torture

Jaime’s eyes flew open, his heart was pounding. He gave one pull against the manacles at his hands and feet that kept him laying on a small cot before resigning himself to staring at the cold grey ceiling. He wasn’t sure if he had actually heard the door open, or if he dreamt it, again.

As the silence dragged on, Jaime knew he was just being paranoid. Max always said some sickenly sweet platitude before he started his experiments. Apologies, offers of food, and gentle statements.

But Jaime didn’t trust him for one second. He knew whatever information Max was trying to get out of the scarab would not lead to anything good. He felt sick in the pit of his stomach knowing that once again he and his scarab was going to be used to hurt people. And that he couldn’t do anything to stop it. Sure he shouted and argued while Max stuck needles into his back. But nothing he said could get through to Max nor the heroes separated from him by nothing more than a soundproof wall.

The oppressive silence between visits was even worse. At least when he talked to Max he had some confirmation that he was heard. Alone he would speak, joke, and yell, but the Apokoliptian tech that filled the room was more than enough to keep the scarab silent. So for the first time in a long time he was truly, utterly, alone. And he didn’t like it.

He missed his scarab, violent but accurate paranoia and all. He missed being able to bounce ideas off of it, working together to figure out problems and save people.

He also missed his family, his friends, his freedom. And to top it all off he missed his shirt, which Max had removed to get better access to the scarab.

“Still,” he spoke aloud, because he had to keep trying something, “I’m glad I still have my pants, otherwise this would be really awkward.”

“I’ll say.”

Jaime jolted against his cuffs, straining his head backwards and catching a glimpse of Robin standing in the open doorway.

“Rob,” He let out a small hoarse laugh, “You have no idea how glad I am to see you.”

“I can imagine.” Robin smiled and pulled two lockpicks out of his belt, “Don’t worry, I’ll have you out in no time.”

With that Robin set to work freeing Jaime’s right hand. Jaime waited, not daring to do anything that could somehow alert Max. In fact he didn’t dare breathe until the latch on his right arm gave a soft click.

Robin quickly slipped over to his left hand and began working on it’s manacle.

Jaime stretched his right arm. He then grabbed the right side of the cot and used it as leverage to twist trying to get a good view of the door behind him.

It wasn’t good enough. “Robin run!”

“No” Max said glaring and ignoring the trickle of blood at his nose. “Stay Put.”

“Damn it ” Robin cursed, still bent over Jaime’s left hand.

“Let him go!” Jaime shouted. But the door had already slid shut with a soft thump.

Max rapped on it with his finger and said, “shout all you want, no one else will hear you, you know that.”

Jaime fell silent, and felt something small and metallic being forced into his left hand.

“Step away from him,” Max ordered.

Robin complied, and Jaime tried to conceal the lock pick that he had been given without making it look obvious that he was clutching his lifeline.

“Robin, I’m impressed. That was some fine detective work you did to find us. How did you do it?”

Robin stayed silent and Max moved towards him until their faces were less than an inch apart. “I don’t think you understand. How Did You Do It?”

Robin clenched his fists, his neck strained, but he spoke calmly. “No one had seen Blue in a couple of days. So I checked the zeta records, to try and get a lead. However they showed that he had never left the watchtower. So I’ve been searching unused rooms hoping to find a lead.”

Jaime used Max’s distraction and grabbed the lockpick with his free hand. He worked it into the latch slowly, focusing on his breathing to try and calm his shaking hand. He could not afford to have it clang.  

Max didn’t look over at him, he just grimaced and dabbed the blood away from his nose. “Who else?”

“Pardon?”

“Who else knows anything about this?”

The fabric of Robin’s gloves pulled tightly against his knuckles, “Kid Flash, Tigress, and I are the only ones who know about the Zeta records.”

Jaime held his breath, the lockpick digging into the skin of his palm. Bart, he could be gone before Max had time to get one syllable out. And if just one person remembered he was here-

Max sighed, walked over to a small computer terminal and typed in several commands.

“ _B-07 Tigress zeta access deactivated. B-23 Kid Flash zeta access deactivated.”_

Jaime pulled the lockpick away from the latch and concealed it in his palm just before Max turned away from the terminal. Bart wouldn’t have anywhere to run confined to the watchtower, so it was vital that he kept his one remaining lifeline hidden.

“And you are right Robin,” Max stated, ignoring the blood that was beginning to flow freely from his nose. “Blue Beetle not zeta-ing off of the watchtower is suspicious. So when you leave this room the first thing and only thing you will do is to fix that data to say that he zeta-ed back to El Paso a couple of hours after his last arrival. Then you will forget that any of this happened.”

Robin nodded, and moved to the door.

“Oh and Robin, before you go, be sure to pick up all your gadgets that you might have left here.”

Robin turned and made a beeline for Jaime. His teeth were clenched and his brow was furrowed, but he struck Jaime’s right arm with surgical precision.

Jaime’s arm and hand went numb, and Robin was able to easily retrieve the lockpick and replaced it in his belt. Robin then turned and left the room.

Max tilted his head forward and held his nose with a handkerchief that was rapidly turning red. He walked over to Jaime and lifting his right arm and examining it where Robin had struck.

“Hmm, just hit a pressure point, impressive.” Max commented as he lowered the arm, and locked it back into place.

Jaime glared at Max, “you haven’t won yet.”

Max glared back, face pale. His eyes were beginning to look sunken.

“They merely delayed the inevitable kid. Because if there is one rule that seems to be followed in this world, it’s that the good and righteous eventually win. And the ner-do-wells always get their comeuppance.”

“Wait, what?”

“I’m not evil Jaime, everything I do is for the greater good. I hope that one day you will see that.”

Max went to exit the room, but stopped just before placing his hand on the access panel to open the door. “Enjoy your night off kid. I doubt I’ll have the energy for today’s tests after I deal with Robin’s accomplices.”

And with that he was gone.

And Jaime was left alone again in the bare room. He only had the pins and needles feeling in his arm and a hopeless feeling in his chest. He didn’t know how much longer he had until Max pulled exactly what he wanted from the scarab.

But then again-

“Remember Ted’s notes,” Jaime mumbled to himself, “maybe I should just give Max what he wants.”

* * *

 

“Hey guys, what’s up?” Virgil asked as he walked in the door.

Tye’s head perked up, and he said, “Virgil, is there any news about Jaime?”

“No, haven’t heard anything new. So, what game are we playing tonight?”

“Wait, the search hasn’t turned up anything?” Tye stepped closer to Virgil, his arms crossed and mouth drawn tight.

“What search?” Virgil asked, looking up at Tye.

“ _WHAT SEARCH?_ The search for my missing best friend! Did you honestly stop searching for Jaime?” Tye dropped his arms, and let his hands curl into fists at his side.

Ed and Asami moved to the sides of the room, edging closer to the two in case they needed to break up a fight.

“I didn’t stop, I didn’t look at all. Tye, there is nothing going on. At least, nothing that needs a search,” Virgil said, glancing at Ed and Asami as if to ask ‘what is up with Tye’.

“The hell there isn’t. We’re supposed to be a team, and a team doesn’t drop each other.” Tye let his voice drop, and turned his back to Virgil.

“It’s not like that Tye. You have to tell me. It’s Christmas Vacation, how was I supposed to know that Jaime not being around was weird?”

Tye threw his arms in the air. “I told you! I told you that he wasn’t home, and that his parents didn’t know where he was. I _asked_ you to search, which you apparently couldn’t be bothered to do.”

Virgil reached out, putting one hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Tye, I wouldn’t abandon anyone. But I just don’t remember you telling me anything like that, or asking me to search for him.”

“Then something is wrong with your memory, because I did tell and ask you.”

Asami walked towards the two. “I know you would not let a friend go missing, but Tye did tell you about it. We all heard you say it.”

Virgil took a step back and shook his head.

“No way,” he said, horror dawning on his face.

He glanced over at Ed.

Ed looked off to the side. “Yeah man. Look I’m sorry, but we all heard it.”

Tye turned to face Virgil. “You honestly don’t remember any of it?”

Virgil shook his head, and put his back to the wall. He slid down, burying his head into his hands.

“Not a thing.”

Then a flash of white pain seared itself in Virgil’s mind, and he said, “Wait. It’s fuzzy, but I remember asking Bumblebee and Robin about it.”

“And?” Tye said, leaning over Virgil.

“They said they’d look into it, and I went around to ask… someone else. But that’s it. Both said they’d look into it, but nothing else.”

Ed came over, and crossed his arms. “So, something really fishy is going on, and it involves Blue. Again. Best not ask around so you don’t get mind wiped.”

“And give up on searching for Jaime?” Tye asked, rounding on Ed.

“No. Just don’t go asking,” Ed said, putting his hands up. “Go around observing instead.”

Virgil began to stand up. “Right. I can do that. Leave it to me, Tye. And I’ll text you guys everything I see just in case I get mind wiped again. After all, if Bee and Robin haven’t told me anything, they might have been mind wiped too.”

* * *

 

Karen was ready to tear her hair out.

“I swear, if Beast Boy hid them as some sort of prank, I will show him a video of vivisections on animals,” she muttered as she slid the couch back into its original spot.

“Hid what as a prank?”

Karen spun around to see Cassie standing behind her, head tilted to the side.

“My notes, homework, thesis, everything.”

“That doesn’t sound like Beast Boy. He’s not that mean.”

“I know, I know,” Karen muttered. “I’ve just turned over every bit of furniture in every place I’ve been over the last few days, and I haven’t seen hide nor hair of my stuff! Anyway, is anything up with you?”

Cassie sighed. “Boredom. Everyone’s either on a mission, off for the holidays, or busy with something or someone else. I mean, Beast Boy’s been going with Conner to the Kent farm or to Atlantis with La’gaan even, and I was hoping to hang out with Blue, but I haven’t seen him since Thursday! Not to mention that Bart is busy getting lessons in talking to reporters, and- Bee, what are you doing?”

Karen had a piece of paper out, and was currently scribbling something down. “Sorry, just- didn’t Blue say he’d be available for the holidays except for Christmas Eve and Day?”

“Uh, yeah, why?”

“Well, if he’s sick or something, maybe you could go and check up on him. At least you won’t be bored.”

Cassie grinned. “Thanks Karen, I’ll do that. And good luck finding your stuff!”

“Thanks,” Karen mumbled, looking at the writing in her hands- _Blue last seen by Cassie on Thursday_.

* * *

 

Jaime resisted the urge to groan when he heard the sound proof door of his small prison slide open. And he just waited in silence for them to close again.

“Being good today are we?”

He just nodded in response to Max’s question. Besides, he knew calling for help would get him nowhere. He had already seen Max work his mojo on Robin and Bumblebee. If anyone did hear him they would just forget about it. Assuming they even heard him through the soundproof door in the first place.

Max came into his field of view, grinning. “Good, you are learning.”

“Yes,” Jaime answered dully, not bothering to struggle against the manacles that held both his wrists and ankles firmly to the cot.

Not that that would have done much good, since the Scarab was currently overwhelmed by the Apokolips tech in the room, and without it he was no stronger than an ordinary human.

“So you get it now then, so many of these heroes cannot be trusted. They don’t truly care for the common man, like you, like me, like the late Mr. Kord.”

“Yes,” Jaime did not meet Max’s eyes, but instead chose a spot on the ceiling to stare at.  

Max grinned wider, “Very good. How about a little reward for today then?”

“Turn it off? I could just ask the armor what you want to know.”

“Sorry kiddo, can’t do that. Can’t risk your little bug lying to me. But I could let you sit up.”

Jaime nodded, careful not to let any emotion through. Max opened the manacles on his wrists with a key that he pulled out from his coat pocket. Once Jaime’s arms were free he replaced the key and moved to the edge of the bed again. This time he grabbed a tray  and placed it on Jaime’s lap.

“Sorry about the hospital fare kid,” He said, as if he actually cared, “but it’ll help you keep your strength up.”

Jaime attempted to sit up. But only got about halfway there before making a small cry and collapsing backwards, exactly mimicking the time that he got the flu real bad in seventh grade.

Max was behind him in an instant. Jaime fought every instinct that told him to flinch away from his touch. He let Max help him up. Resting his right hand on Max’s arm for support, and planting his left firmly against the bed, elbow raised, making it look like a desperate attempt to sit up.

Max leaned in for the final assist and Jaime made his move. He clamped down hard with his right hand, locking Max into place while he simultaneously slammed his elbow back and up, catching Max firmly in the throat.

Max gagged, and Jaime reached with his left hand into Max’s coat pocket, retrieving the key. Twisting, he forced Max’s right arm into where his was trapped before and locked it firmly into place. Jaime then used the key to set his legs free.

He was on his feet in an instant, pulling Max’s left hand away from his throat and forcing it against the access panel. The door slid open and Jaime gave a sarcastic grin that Max could not see.

“I can’t believe you thought you had me once you cut off my powers. You, of all people, should know that us Blue Beetles, we don’t need no stinking powers.”

Jaime then backed mostly out of the open door. He held Max’s hand to the access panel, again, and gave him a massive shove before the door closed.

“So glad you bothered to make this sound proof,” Jaime said at the door that was once his prison, before he turned and fled out of Max’s office and down the hall.

He needed to get out of here, he sprinted around the corridors, bare feet squeaking against the cold metal floor. He needed to get distance between him and that Apokoliptian tech, he needed...

_[Online]_

“It is so good to hear your voice again, _hermano_.”

_[Agreed. Suggested tactic, flee.]_

The Scarab was getting louder but it was not back to normal levels yet.   

“I’m with you, there is just one thing I need.”

With that Jaime turned into the team’s rec room. They should still be here, unless Black Canarywent on a cleaning spree. Please say no one went on a cleaning spree.

Someone had. The couch was moved, it’s pillows flipped. Books neatened and rearranged. But the television was exactly the same. Which was actually all he needed.

Ted Kord’s notes, and Karen’s bag were still stuffed behind the TV. He pulled both the notes and Karen’s bag out, uncaring as he pushed the entertainment cabinet out of alignment with the couch.

He did however offered a silent apology as he dumped Karen’s notebooks out on the couch. He stuffed Ted’s notes in the bag. After everything was resolved with Max, he’d return it. But for now he really couldn’t afford to have them fly away.   

_[Jaime Reyes, we are out of time, an alarm has been activated.]_

Jaime zipped the bag shut and slung it over his shoulder.

“I don’t suppose we’ll be able to zeta off?”

_[Zeta platforms are locked down.]_

“Damn, I thought we’d have more time.” He took a breath, “What about armor?”

_[It is offline, and will be as long as we are inside the watchtower.]_

“What? Why?”

_[There is low level non-compatible technology emitting throughout the ship.]_

Jaime sighed, “Probably put in by Max.”

_[Or the Batman, as a failsafe. Nevertheless it must have been activated by the Maxwell Lord.]_

Jaime moved out of the rec room. “Got any ideas? Because I do not want him to get his hands on me again.”

The Scarab stayed silent for a second before speaking. _[There is one way, but it is dangerous.]_

“Does it involve me killing anyone?”

_[Negative]_

“Then lead the way.”

The Scarab did, guiding Jaime to an empty hangar. They closed the door behind them and Jaime held his breath as Green Arrow moved past the door mere seconds later. He let the Scarab guide his motions in hacking the controls for the hangar door, and whispered, “what do I need to do?”

_[Jump, and do not hold your breath.]_

“Jump into space? Unarmored?”

_[It will take approximately twenty seconds to get the armor up once outside of the watchtower. Assurances, I will protect you. However I will need full control to land us safely.]_

Jaime glanced out of the hanger into the inky darkness. That wasn’t the scary part. If the Scarab said that they could do or survive something then they could do it. He didn’t doubt that.

_[Jaime Reyes we need to leave.]_

He knew that. He knew that he had to get away. But after everything with the Reach, and his time spent at the mercy of Max, he was really enjoying the freedom to move. The thought of handing over all control again- that was more nerve racking than the thump of feet outside of the hangar.

_[Khaji Da,]_ the scarab whispered to him, and Jaime twisted his head towards his shoulder.

_[My Reach serial number. Even though they have left, it will still force my attention. And once you have that- you know I will never allow you to be held against your will right.]_

“I do,” Jaime said as he slowly walked towards the hangar door, “But you promise that if I say it, I’m not going to be acting like the ambassador to you?”

_[You will not,]_ the scarab said firmly _, [because the Reach would never grant me the enough respect to call me by a name I have chosen for myself.]_

“Ok, Khaji Da, let’s do it.”

_[Exhale now, and jump.]_

Jaime did so. He raced forward the external door opening before him. He launched himself into the abyss. His lungs cried for air, and he could feel the water in his mouth boiling before darkness overtook him.

His next conscious sensation was of falling. He could see flames around him, although none of the heat penetrated the armor. The bag of notes was still firmly in his hand enclosed by one arm acting as a shield. He felt the scarab move him, adjust his re-entry angle, but Jaime didn’t try to fight it. He just watched the flames pass and then die down. He watched the clouds recede. He felt himself slow, heard the thrum of his thrusters. And then felt a jarring impact.

_[...Jaime Reyes...]_

He watched the clouds drift by. Enjoying the feeling of being able to stretch. Even if he was currently sunk into the earth and surrounded by broken tree limbs. 

_[....Jaime Reyes]_ The Scarab repeated softly, and Jaime forced himself to focus.

“ _¿Mande?_ ”

_[We should flee now,]_ it sounded relieved.

Jaime pushed himself up and shook his head. He put on the backpack with Ted’s notes, not caring how weird it looked over the scarab.

“Yeah,” he said, stumbling through the thick New Jersey pine forest, “time to go.”


	6. Sometimes Violence is not the Answer

“Mal babe, sorry. It’s just I can’t really enjoy the break. I mean, all that hard work, gone,” Karen said as she walked with her boyfriend, running her fingers through her hair.

Mal slung one arm around her shoulder. “Didn’t you have a back up?”

Karen sighed. “I had three copies. My online and offline versions were deleted, and my flash drive is missing. It’s driving me nuts!”

“You will be fine. Maybe take this as a sign, that you should take some time and relax. After all, it could come to you after you give yourself a breather,” Mal said.

“Maybe you’re right. Dr. Palmer did say that spring semester with no classes, was a great time to do stress free job or graduate school applications. It’s just that I am so close to graduating if I could just find it,” Karen said as they walked through the door to the rec room.

She stopped short when she saw a pile of notes and items on the couch that looked suspiciously familiar.

“Oh this is so not funny,” Karen said, going to the pile and sorting through it, “All of my notes, just casually dumped right here. And where is my bag?”

Mal dropped to his knees, helping Karen gather all the notes.

“Hey, you can use mine. After all, I don’t really need to carry much stuff between places,” Mal said, offering said bag to her after emptying it out.

Karen smiled, putting everything in said bag, and slinging it over her shoulder. She kissed him on the cheek, and said, “Sorry babe, now I really need to work. I can still make the graduation deadline if I really try!”

Mal put his hands on her shoulders. “It’s alright. If I find out who took your stuff I’ll give them a piece of my mind for putting you through this.”

He kissed the top of her forehead, and walked back to his quarters to put his stuff back.

Karen smiled, then collapsed in a comfy arm chair with a sigh, starting to read over everything. Really, the fact that someone went to the trouble of deleting her online backups was the last straw.

Sorting through the notes, she spotted a notebook that she had never written in before. Shrugging, she opened it to see if there was a message from the person who dumped her notes after hiding them from her.

Then she saw the first entry.

* * *

 

Cassie poked her head into the rec room. It was a hub of laughing and cheering, as Artemis, Bart, Robin, and Kaldur relaxed after another mission that ended in an explosion. They were listening to Gar tell everyone what Atlantis was like with La’gaan.

“-and even though I couldn’t speak or understand everything without M’gann, everyone was super cool once La’gaan explained that I wasn’t really a green shark.”

Cassie waited until they hit a lull in the conversation before jumping in.

“Hey, has anyone seen Jaime?” she asked.

Artemis shrugged, “No, he hasn’t been around today.”

Cassie frowned, “Anyone seen him yesterday? Or the day before? Or two days ago?”

“I have not. However, I am sure it is not cause for concern,” Kaldur said, ”He is most likely enjoying time with his family.”

Cassie crossed her arms. “I thought about that. But he said he would be able to help every day except Christmas Eve and Day. And when I stopped by his house, his parents said they haven’t seen him either. ”

At the blank looks everyone gave her, Cassie snapped.

“What in Hera’s name is going on, guys! Our teammate has gone missing, and nobody noticed or thought it was odd? Blue, the guy who apologizes for being a minute late?”

She turned towards the people on the couch, “Bart, I know you’ve been having _so_ much fun with your new responsibilities, but did you really forget about the guy you call your best friend? Artemis, you’re a senior member and Kaldur, you’re supposed to be team leader! Oh, and Robin, I know you’re too wrapped up in your investigation for hanging out with your girlfriend, but what about for a missing teammate?”

No one responded, and Cassie threw up her hands.

“I can’t believe you!” Cassie shouted, storming out, past a newly arrived Virgil.

“What was that all about?” he asked.

* * *

 

If there was one small mercy, Jaime thought, it was that the scarab was able to angle them into a forest near population. Jaime mentally shuddered at the thought of getting stuck in the midwest, miles from the nearest house.

Another small mercy was that the scarab knew where they were; otherwise, Jaime might have trekked through miles of pine forest instead of heading to the highway and following it towards the nearest city; there, however, the mercies ended.

Jumping into outer space without protection, even for a few seconds, still did plenty of damage, meaning that Jaime had a feeling that being armored up was the only thing keeping him going. The League potentially being on the look-out for him meant that even though it was dark, flying was not an option. After all, the League had to have their satellites trained on the general area he landed in.

To make matters worse, the forest gave way to marshy estuary and the highway became a low bridge. If he walked over it he knew he would stand out instantly.

He slid down the slight embankment, looking at the low pillars that held the bridge up, and the sinking mud that they stood in. Each step he sunk down, and he could feel his energy slipping away each time he had to fight to raise his foot.

“Scarab, please tell me you have a plan B.”

_[Affirmative. This bridge provides enough cover for us to engage flight mode. Additionally flight will also provide your body some rest, as this scarab will be doing all the physical work.]_

Jaime sighed in relief as the scarab unfurled their wings, and glided slow and low under the bridge. The scarab also briefly risked being seen when it landed them at the top of the embankment. But still Jaime felt the risk was well worth it, if it meant that he didn’t have to climb.

From there it was a short walk before he finally made it into the city. Derelict buildings with plywood over windows and doors seemed to be on every block. He just had to find one with enough shelter from both prying eyes and the harsh Mid Atlantic winter. Then the scarab would be able to divert power from the armor into his healing.

Jaime had just finished pulling the plywood off of the window of a prospective building when he heard the gunshots. He groaned, but didn’t hesitate racing towards the noise.

What he saw when he arrived was two teenagers, covered in blood, crawling away from three men holding baseball bats and guns.

_[Engaging plasma cannon.]_

“No. Sonic cannon” Jaime whispered, holding his arm.

_[The sonic cannon is 50% less efficient than the plasma cannon.]_

“Just because plasma is more efficient doesn’t make it better, hermano. We don’t want to kill anyone here.”

_[The armor is currently running on reserve power to facilitate healing,]_ the scarab explained, even as it switched to the sonic cannon.

Jaime gave the scarab a quick nod of appreciation before he turned his attention to the armed men.

His first shot took out their lookout. As that man went flying, Jaime turned his attention to the remaining two.

But they stayed behind their victims, and Jaime didn’t dare take a shot. Maybe at full strength he could have done it. But he was breathing hard. His vision was tunneling and he was sure that his arms were shaking.

Still he had to do something.

Or at least that was what he thought. His actions proved to be unnecessary when a man with a red helmet covering the entirety of his head jumped down.

A couple of quick hits later, and the remaining criminals dropped. Jaime took a second to admire the man’s fighting skills as the man effortlessly knocked them to the ground and tied them up. Then he saw the man pull out a gun and point it at the quivering criminals.

Jaime between them. “Wait, what are you doing!”

“Making sure this scum can’t bother anyone else ever again,” the man said, not lowering his gun, “Now step out of the way.”

Jaime did not.

“They deserve a second chance, like anyone else!” He pleaded, “let them go to jail, and they could reform.”

“They were going to kill those two for laughs, trash like that can never change,” the man said.

“Not if you never give them the chance.” Jaime glared at the man, staring at where the eyes were on the mask. “Look I know you mean well.”

“Do you?” The man growled at him.

“Yes,” Jaime answered calmly.

He blinked hard. He could feel the scarab syphon off his own energy. He would say that firing his weapon was not the wisest thing he had done recently, but he had jumped off the watchtower wearing only jeans, and then gotten into a fight that he couldn’t finish.  

“Ok, maybe, I don’t know you. But if you are anything like my friend, then I understand. You are protecting these people.” Jaime said, gesturing to the two injured victims, “But you know, you already saved at least two people today, why not save three more?”

The man sighed, and put his gun away.

“Fine,” he growled at the three criminals, “but if I ever catch you again, bug boy won’t be here to stop me from shooting you.”

“Thank you,” Jaime whispered, allowing his shoulders to slump with relief.

_[Armor power at critical],_ the scarab shouted in his head, _[retreat to a fortified position immediately.]_

Jaime blinked slowly and shook his head. That building he had found was close by. He should be able to reach it. He managed five steps in its direction before he bumped into the man in the red helmet.

“You’re not going anywhere,” he said lightly, “Someone has to make sure these guys get to the police like you wanted. And I am not going to risk being caught by Batman before I finish cleaning up this city.”

Jaime felt his heart rate spike. And something started hurting deep in his chest. His world started to spin but he focused the best he could on the man.

“I can’t. If he... If Batman finds me I...”

“Aren’t you on the team?” the man asked gently, “Bats will forgive you for coming into Gotham. You know, eventually.”

“It’s not that. I don’t trust Batman. I can’t. He-”

“You are preaching to the choir believe me but-”

Jaime didn’t hear the rest of what the man said. The scarab was shouting in his head about transferring power from the armor to critical healing tasks. The armor flaked off of him like an old cicada shell.

Then everything was muffled, as if he had cotton stuck in his ears.

And he hurt, everywhere. He could feel the bruises and burns forming from his impromptu spacewalk. Too much to catalogue. Too much to remain standing.

Jaime collapsed forward.

The man in the red hood easily caught him. And Jaime knew he was speaking, he just could not parse the words that were being said. The last thing he remembered before he slipped into unconsciousness was how easily the man was able to lift him.

* * *

 

“Cassie look I know I’ve been distant recently,” Tim grabbed her hand in the rec room, which was empty except for them and a studious Karen working in the corner, “but I promise as soon as this case is solved...”

“There will be another case Robin, we both know that.”

“But I can multitask.”

Cassie laughed at that statement, even as Tim defended himself.

“Even on this case. I know I haven’t had much free time, but I did check the Zeta records for Blue Beetle. He Zeta-ed back to El Paso on December 8th, and hold on a second...”

Tim’s hand went to the ear where his com was, and Cassie rolled her eyes again.

“What now?” She asked.

Tim raised his hands, “Don’t blame me for this one, it’s a team meeting. Didn’t yours go off as well?”

She shrugged and took her comm out. “Nope, must be broken.”

“I’ll look at it later,” He promised her before turning to Karen and asking, “you coming?”

“Sorry, lots of work,” she shrugged taking out her com and laying it on the table beside her, “I’ll take a raincheck. Fill me in later ok?”

Tim nodded and lead Cassie to the meeting room. They were some of the last people to arrive, and were standing in the back near Virgil. And when Cassie glanced over at him and saw that he was furiously texting on his phone, she couldn’t help but feel annoyed that Virgil was so obviously not interested in what was going on.

He was still frantically texting even as Max took the stage with Batman by his side and began speaking.

“We have located Jaime Reyes, or more specifically Blue Beetle. As you all know, Blue Beetle gets his power from the Reach’s scarab attached to his spine. And we now have reason to believe that this Scarab has taken control of him again.”

Cassie gasped, but she couldn’t take her eyes off of the evidence that Max showed. Jaime running and jumping off of the watchtower and into space wearing only his jeans. The seconds seemed to tick by so slowly as she watched him float limply away from the tower and into the void. To her it felt like forever until the armor surrounded him and began descending towards the planet.

She blinked hard. Virgil stopped texting. And the rest of the room was silent enough for Cassie to hear the muffled vibration of Virgil’s phone. He looked down, frowned, and continued to text.

No one else seemed notice, and Max continued to speak. He showed grainy cell phone photos of the Blue Beetle armor standing next to a man in a red helmet. At their feet were several men, tied up and watching them.

“As you can see he is working with Red Hood, who’s been making a name for himself around  Gotham as a very dangerous murderer. And while his case is not my specialty you can rest assured that Robin will fill you in on all the details.”

Max dabbed at his nose and the crowd parted to let Tim through. He nodded in response and began making his way up to the podium. Everyone but Virgil was watching him. Virgil was still texting away. And Cassie couldn’t take it anymore, she reached out and swiped the phone from him, pocketing it.

He glared at her, but she took a step back mouthing ‘this is serious’ at him.

“Yes it is,” Virgil responded in a harsh whisper before raising his voice so the whole assembled group could hear him.

“I’m not sure how many of you really saw Blue around civilians while he was under Reach control but I did. I fought next to him at S.T.A.R. Labs, and let me tell you that picture does not show a Reach scarab. First off there is absolutely no collateral damage...”

“Virgil” Max cut him off, his nose beginning to bleed again, “the things that make villains like the Reach so very dangerous is how they can hide right under everyone’s noses. So we need to stop Blue Beetle by any means necessary.”

“You’re right,” Virgil replied in a monotone that didn’t seem to surprise anyone in the room except for Cassie, “Blue Beetle has gone rogue, and we need to hunt him down, and stop him by any means necessary.”

Cassie’s blood boiled; the team and the Justice League didn’t kill, especially not their own. And Jaime never wanted to hurt anyone, and he always put the safely of the world above his own. If he did go back to the Reach, or if the scarab did go rogue, it must have something to do with Max and how he made Virgil go all ‘any means necessary’. And before she could stop herself, she took flight launching herself at Max Lord.

She never made her mark. Instead of meeting the already bloody face of Maxwell Lord, her fist was stopped cold. True she wasn’t using her full strength, but still there was only a handful of people that could do that to her.

She pulled back with all her might, and after giving a silent apology, roundhouse kicked Conner in the head. Finally she yanked her fist free from his grasp and sped away.

* * *

 

Karen was still curled up in the team’s rec room. She had strategically placed school books around her, but she was definitely not studying. She had decided that she was pushing her graduation off till spring, but she was not going to let anyone on the League or team know, at least until she could figure out this notebook.

Because if the ‘her’ who wrote the journal was right, there was something big, and something bad going on in the Justice League. More dangerous and subtle than any Light plot that she had seen. And one by one the people who were best suited to fight it disappeared.

Karen flipped to the back of her book, she had seven names written down. The first five were crossed off.

_~~Red Tornado - A.I. - Deactivated~~ _

_~~Martian Manhunter - Psychic - Offworld~~ _

_~~Miss Martian - Psychic - Offworld~~ _

_~~Wonder Woman - Lasso of Truth? Wisdom of the Gods? - Offworld~~ _

_~~Captain Marvel - Wisdom of Solomon - School trouble/Won’t Transform~~ _

The next one ‘ _Blue Beetle - Scarab A.I.’_ wasn’t. However she had a date next to it, 12/8/16. Which was the last time that anyone remembered seeing him. It was almost three weeks ago now, and no one seemed to think it was odd.

She reluctantly got out her pen and wrote three letters next to that entry, ‘MIA’. She pressed her lips together and struck through his name as well. Now there was only one person left on her list.

“Karen! Shit!”

Karen turned to look at Cassie who was floating at the entrance of the rec room. She was wide-eyed, breathing heavily, and had both hands clamped over her mouth.

“What’s wrong?”

Cassie landed and glanced over her shoulder. “You haven’t been on the comms?”

Karen shrugged and pointed to the device still laying on the table, half buried in school supplies. “No, is there a problem?”

“No” Cassie answered quickly, voice hitching. She slid over so that he back was against the wall next to the entrance. “Nothing’s wrong. Absolutely nothing. Except I mean, my zeta access is down. I don’t suppose you could fix that in the next, oh, two minutes?”

“Girl, I’m good but I’m not a miracle worker.”  

Cassie slumped and then froze in place when footsteps sounded in the hallway.

“Karen,” Black Canary called from the hallway, “You don’t have your comm in.”

“Sorry, studying. Is there something I can help with?”

She sighed. “No, it’s fine. Just have you seen Wonder Girl?”

Karen shrugged and kept eye contact with Black Canary, “A couple of hours ago, why?”

“She had a mini freakout today, attempted to punch a civilian. I want to make sure she gets some help.”

“Oh the guy ok?” Karen asked, “I’ll let you know if I see her.”

“Yeah he’s fine, but be careful. She is not thinking clearly right now.”

“Will do,” Karen said with a smile before turning back towards the homework splayed out before her.

She scribbled on paper until they could no longer hear Black Canary’s footsteps. She didn’t turn when she heard Cassie fall to her knees.

Instead Karen said, “You know, being on a stealth team means we don’t just punch the big bad in his face while he is surrounded by his ‘allies’.”

Cassie stood, and Karen turned to face her with a half grin. “Even if Max is a super powerful psychic who is taking off our friends one by one.”

“You... You knew?”

Karen tossed her journal at Cassie, who looked down at the list, with only one entry remaining.

_Wonder Girl - Wisdom of the Gods?_

“Secret ops remember,” Karen quipped, but her tone grew more serious as the sound of more footsteps reached them, “come on, we need to get you out of here, Stealther Girl.”


	7. Safe House

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter warning for mentions of torture and death.

An hour after meeting Cassie in the rec room, Karen stood without her in the command center of the watchtower. She was surrounded by other superheros, and like the rest of them, she was watching Superman destroy one of the Javelins that had launched without permission. Max had said that it was a faulty launch, and they needed to take it down so it didn’t crash into a populated area.

No one else was worried about that ship. So Karen didn’t see why she should be either. After the ship was ripped into about twenty pieces that burnt upon reentry and splashed down into the ocean, Superman returned and reported that there had been no problems.

Max who was standing on the bridge with sunken eyes and blood around his nose and ears, gave a smile. As more of the heroes filed out, Karen went through the zeta logs.

“Huh, Atom, look at this, it seems like someone is locked out of the zeta platform, I wonder why?”

Max rapidly typed into a terminal, still looking very pale. And Atom pulled up the same screen that Karen had been looking at.

“You sure? I don’t see anything.”

Max watched Karen closely, but she just shrugged, “Guess my eyes are playing tricks on me.”

Atom smiled, “I know that feeling. You’ve been working pretty hard, why don’t you zeta home and call it a night.”

Karen agreed and went back to the rec room to get her bag. It was already packed with her journal was at the bottom of her bag covered with a spare set of clothes that were not her size, her other textbooks, and other important things. Luckily it was the bag borrowed from Ma, as her missing bag would not have been big enough to hold all of her books and the clothes.

When she returned to the command center, Max was no longer there. She took her time in getting on the zeta platform. And when she left in two beams of light, no one was around to notice.

Upon her arrival outside of Ivy U, she looked down into her bag at the mini Wonder Girl hiding there.

“We’re out, and now I really want my suit back.”

Cassie laughed, “I can’t believe that worked.”

Karen was not as happy. “They all thought you were on that craft, and yet he could still get Superman to destroy it without an issue. That’s some serious mind mojo.”

* * *

 

Jaime opened his eyes, and upon seeing a ceiling that wasn’t the one from his room, instantly moved his arms. He groaned from the pain, but seeing as they weren’t cuffed down, he relaxed enough to look around the room.

He was laying on a mattress in the middle of a small but neat living room. He was covered by a light sheet and had several soft pillows under his head.

“Where are we?” he muttered at the scarab.

_[We are still located in Gotham City, but further details are unknown.]_

At the same time that the scarab spoke, Jaime heard another voice. It was plenty loud but strangely muffled. He couldn’t make out what was said except it might have been something about a mouse. He looked around and saw the same red helmeted man from the alley.

“Why can’t I understand him?” Jaime whispered to the scarab.

_[Burst eardrums due to rapid pressure change,]_ the scarab answered flatly, _[not life threatening, minimal pain, low priority for healing.]_

While Jaime was paying attention to the scarab, the man had moved to sit directly in front of Jaime. The man removed his helmet, allowing Jaime to see some features and a red domino mask.

“You are in one of my safe houses,” he said.

He spoke at the same volume as before, but this time he spoke slowly, carefully enunciating each word, and face to face with Jaime.

“Oh,” Jaime answered, “thanks.”

An uneasy silence came over the room before the man spoke again.

“Who did this to you?”

Jaime spared a glance to his arms. They were still peppered with bruises and raw peeling skin. It turned out that the lack of an atmosphere was the ultimate equalizer when it came to who got sunburns.

“No one did this to me _esé,_ I jumped out of the Watchtower,” Jaime gave him a smile, “turns out jeans are not appropriate space walk gear. Who knew right?”

“You’ve got style, bug boy,” he said, before gently grabbing Jaime’s arms and running his thumb over an older injury that encircled both wrists, “but these are not something that happens on a spacewalk.”

Jaime looked at the area. And the man was right, it wasn’t from the spacewalk. It was from the reason he had to do the spacewalk in the first place.

“His name is Max Lord,” Jaime answered softly, looking at his hands, “I think he wanted to figure out how the scarab works.”

“Is he still in the Watchtower?” the man asked, steel in his voice.

“Yes I believe,” Jaime stopped short when he saw the man preparing his guns, “you can’t...”

“I can, the Watchtower may be defended, but I bet I still have Zeta access.”

With that line Jaime blinked. The pieces of the puzzle began to fall into place.

“Robin?” He asked softly.

The man stiffened, “the name is Red Hood. What makes you think I’m Robin?”

“I’ve seen your memorial. Ro-the current Robin stares at it all the time. I’d see it whenever I went to see the one for the previous Blue Beetle. And when we met you knew about the team.”

“Doesn’t the world?” Red Hood spat out.

“But only team members call us ‘the team’. Everyone else says ‘Junior Justice League’, ‘Young Justice’, or adds a description.”

Red Hood sighed, “You got me, I was Robin a lifetime ago. But no more.”

“Was it for an undercover mission. Did Batman or Nightwing have a special mission, and had to fake your death?”

“No! What on Earth made you think that?”

“Well, first Kaldur was a fake mole, then Artemis didn’t actually die, and there was the whole summit thing, and now you’re alive,” Jaime said, staring the man down. “What’s next, Aquagirl decided to fake her death to be a florist? Ted managed to survive the explosion in an underground bunker and is a top-secret agent against the Light?”

“...What?” Red Hood shook his head, setting his expression into a more grim one. “No, no fake deaths. The Joker really did beat me with a crowbar and leave me to die in an explosion. It’s only because Ra’s dipped me in the Lazarus pit that I’m alive.”

“Oh,” Jaime said softly all other words dying on his lips.

“And I’m thinking Bats is sentimental enough not to take off my Zeta clearance,” Red Hood stated, “So getting to this Max Lord will not be a problem.”

“That’s so not the point,” Jaime argued, “With just his words, Max has taken mental control of the League. If you get close to him he’ll get you too.”

Red Hood simply shrugged, “I was Robin remember. Now that I know Max’s power I know I can handle it. Sneak in. Bam. Sneak out. Easy.”

Jaime shuddered, “No, I can’t... there has to be another way.”

“Why?” Red Hood asked, there was anger in his voice, “he kidnapped you, tortured you, and made you think the only way out was playing meteorite.”

“I know that he’s dangerous,” Jaime said softly, “that he’s hurting people, but I...”

Red Hood sat down on the mattress next to Jaime, and looked him in the eyes.

“This isn’t some low level thug who fell into the lifestyle and could perhaps fall back out,” he explained gently, “This isn’t some Penguin or Mr. Freeze. This is a real threat who will remain that way no matter where he is.”

Jaime bit his lip, “I know, believe me, I do. And if I don’t stop him every person he hurts is on me. But if I allow myself to make exceptions this ‘real’ threat, then I am the next real threat.”

“Huh?”

“I’ve got the power to take out the League and the team. In an alternate future I do,” Jaime explained, looking resolutely at his hands, “if I allow myself to make one exception I can make two, and then three and four and on and on. And what if I can’t stop? What if I still become that next big bad? I can’t, I couldn’t live with that I...”

Red Hood laughed. He reached up to clap Jaime on the shoulder, but stopped before he could aggravate any of Jaime’s wounds.

“You are not becoming the next big bad,” he said, totally convinced, “but if it makes you feel better, we’ll stop Max your way. I do have one caveat, though.”

“What?”

Hood smirked, “I get to be the one to tell the league who I am.”

“Of course Red.”

* * *

 

Karen and Cassie both froze as Cassie’s pants began ringing. Cassie recovered first patting her pockets and pulling out a cell phone.

“Girl you brought your phone, you know they can track that right?”

“I know,” Cassie answered, “but it’s not mine I swear.”

Karen plucked the phone out of her hand, and removed the battery.

“They can’t track us now.” Karen gave both the phone and the separated battery back to Cassie.

Cassie groaned. “Now we have to find Jaime without the League finding out. And the last place he was seen was Gotham. Please tell me you have money for a bus or something.”

Karen smiled. “Good news is that I do have some cash stashed away for a rainy day. And girl, it is a rainy day. However…”

“However?” Cassie said, motioning for Karen to continue.

“Well, everyone’s going to be on the lookout for Wonder Girl. Good news is that I have a leftover wig from a Halloween costume. Oh, but I hope you don’t mind wearing a t-shirt and a pair of Mal’s pants.”

“As long as they don’t smell like boy, I’ll survive,” Cassie said.

* * *

 

Ed sighed, crouched up on the chair, eyes observing the room. Tye was splayed over the couch,  having a glaring contest with the ceiling, and Ed had the feeling that Tye was winning. Asami was looking out the window for minutes at a time before pacing around, and returning to her spot.

It was a good thing that Ms. Longshadow went to bed soon after giving Tye permission for the emergency meeting. Otherwise she would probably be pacing around the room, asking everyone if they needed a drink or a snack every five seconds. Ed felt his phone vibrate lightly in his hand, and he looked down, glad nobody else noticed.

Ed read over the text from Arsenal, and typed back a quick response. The room had been like this for hours. Ever since Virgil stopped sending- and responding to- texts, they grew worried and listless. King of being worried was Tye.

The sound of electricity sparking outside made everyone stand up.

“Virgil is here!” Asami said, smiling and bouncing on her feet.

“Sorry I’m late, got held up at the Watchtower,” Virgil said. “And I have bad news.”

“Worse than Jaime jumping into outer space without his armor on?” Tye asked.

“Yeah. I’m afraid he’s been moded again.”

Ed frowned. “That’s impossible.”

Seeing three sets of eyes on him, Ed sighed. “Look, my father is a scientist for the League. I asked him about it once, and he said that the Reach couldn’t even do it without Green Beetle. And he said that Green Beetle’s scarab was destroyed in a fight against Black Beetle.”

Tye nodded. “Jaime said something similar. Besides, the scarab didn’t want to go on mode, and that talkative speedster would pull out all stops to make sure it didn’t happen.”

“Then why was he teaming up with a known murderer and criminal in Gotham?” Virgil said, hands on hips. “Face it, Tye, he’s fighting against the League. And Jaime isn’t the type of person to let a murderer slide.”

“Did Jaime hurt people?” Asami asked.

“Doesn’t matter. The League and team are hunting him down.”

Ed narrowed his eyes. “Since when does not hurting people not matter?”

Tye looked at his girlfriend and Ed. “Think it happened again?”

“Think what happened?” Virgil asked, looking at them. “No. I was not mind wiped; I still have my memory.”

“Then you remember what happened last time we saw a scarab under Reach control? Remember how Black Beetle would have killed us if not for Arsenal?” Ed said.

“Remember how when Jaime was on mode, he didn’t care about civilians, and left us to-” Tye said, before stopping to take a deep breath.

“He would not stop even when you told him to,” Asami added.

Virgil frowned, remembering how it felt to yell at Blue Beetle, because he wouldn’t stop. And then watching a building full of people (like Ed’s father) collapse just because he wanted to fight the villain more than protect the innocent.

“You have a point, Sam. Still, he’s a danger to everyone.” Virgil then left, slamming the door behind him.

“Why did he not remember?” Asami asked. “He remembered the first time we questioned him.”

“We can figure that out later. At least we know where Jaime is now, though. The question is, how are we getting there?” Ed said.

Tye rolled his eyes. “My mom may not be strict, but there’s no way me and Sam could go to Gotham without her noticing. And when she does notice, she might do something like call the nice League member who talked to her about having me stay in Star Labs in the first place.”

“Gotham is too far,” Asami said. “Unless…”

“You have an idea?” Tye said, looking at her.

“I will talk to your mom.” Asami grinned. “I talk to her a lot.”

Ed smiled. “And I’ll talk to my dad. Shouldn’t be too hard; he hasn’t stopped bragging about how I helped save the world from the Reach to abuela. I’ll meet you guys tomorrow at the bus station.”

“Tonight, you mean. It’s already after midnight.”

Ed grinned. “Tonight.”

* * *

 

The sound of the safe house door closing jolted Jaime awake. His heart was still pounding when the scarab spoke.

_[Based on current Watchtower location, the Maxwell Lord is over one thousand miles distant and is moving away at a rate of over 17 thousand miles per hour.]_

_“Gracias hermano,”_ Jaime whispered to the scarab, forcing himself to calm down.

“What was that?”

Jaime looked up at Red Hood. He was still standing near the doorway, shaking snow off of his heavy leather jacket.

“Scarab,” Jaime admitted before shifting focus away from himself, “How was Gotham?”

“Cold.” Red Hood deadpanned, “ran into a whole gaggle of gangsters though.”

Jaime gave him a worried frown, “Are you hurt?”

“I’m fine.”

Red Hood let the silence hang as he finished stowing most of his gear, except for his mask and a backup knife or two. Finally he turned towards Jaime and shrugged.

“Aren't you going to ask?”

“You know how I feel about killing people,” Jaime replied, looking him in the eye, “But I trust your judgment. I mean I wasn’t there, and you were, so your judgement on what needed to be done is the one that matters.”

“Well Gotham’s jails now have seven new inmates,” Red Hood answered dropping his serious façade and beginning to grin, “and the morgue has zero new bodies.”

Jaime beamed, “That’s great.”

“Also grabbed you some hot chocolate, since you’ve been avoiding coffee and tea with the whole burn thing.”

“Thank you,” Jaime said, “you didn’t have to.”

“It’s not a problem Blue.” Red Hood replied with an easy shrug.

“Jaime,” he stated, rubbing newly healed skin at the back of his neck, “I mean, friends can call me Jaime, if they want.”

Red Hood didn’t respond, he instead focused on the milk that he was heating on the stove. Jaime was silent as well, looking down at the mattress that Red Hood had acquired for him, and hoping that he hadn't assumed too much. His worry was cut short when the mattress sunk from an additional person sitting on it, and a warm mug was pressed into his hands.  

“Thanks Red,” Jaime said, giving a small smile.

“Jason,” Red Hood corrected, “friends can call me Jason.”

* * *

 

“Not a single one?” Cassie said, groaning as she looked out the window.

“Sorry girl, but no bus wants to drive in this weather,” Karen said. “Guess we’ll just have to wait the snow out for a couple of days. The good news is that the League probably thinks that you’re dead, and I’ve been making such a scene with my work recently that nobody will question me taking some time off.”

“Great, I’ve joined the ranks of superheroes who have faked their deaths,” Cassie said, flopping on Karen’s bed.

“And, in other good news, the internet is still up. And I’ve got some solid intel on where Red Hood has been hanging out.”

“Great! Anything I can do to help?” Cassie stood up, and looked over Karen’s shoulder.

“Sure; I’m printing out a map of Gotham right now. If we put all the appearances by chronological order, we should find a pattern. I get the appearances, you get the map.”

“Got it!” Cassie said, taping the map together and getting out various paper clips and tacks to mark the spots. Grinning, the women set to work.

The routine was simple. Karen would list off a date and number of dead, and Cassie would write the numbers down on a slip of paper. Finally Karen would list off a street location and Cassie would scour the map to find a location before putting the paper up with a tack, color coded to the number of victims in the correct location.

There were almost twenty pins up when the routine broke and Cassie had to ask, “and what’s the kill count on that one?”

“Zero.”

“Really?”

Cassie stepped back from the map and looked at Karen. And Karen simply smiled at her and turned her computer screen to Cassie before talking.

“Yeah, but look who’s there.”

“Oh,” Cassie said, recognizing the grainy cell phone photo anywhere, “Max used that picture.”

Cassie went back to the board and began looking, “I guess it is fitting that the only unused color is blue then.”

They continued to put up positions, but every tack used from that point on was blue. Even if there were no confirmed sighting of Blue Beetle at any of the scenes after the first night. And once Karen announced that she had read off every work she could find, Cassie took a step back to examine the map.

“I’ve heard Robin talking about it,” she said, looking at Karen, “aren’t serial criminals supposed to commit crimes in a radius from their home?”

“Unless they know that is the first thing that a cop or crimefighter will look for.” Karen answered, “I mean this seriously looks like he randomly chooses a grid each night and finds someone to beat up.”

Cassie frowned at the map again, “And what about the victims? Aren't they all gangsters and mobsters?”

“Most are,” Karen confirmed, bringing up several on the cases on her computer, “but we’ve also got businessmen, police officers, and at least one public official in the count too.”

“So those guys are the weak links then?”

Karen nodded, “you think we should dig a bit more into them?”

“Robin always implied that it was somewhat personal,” Cassie stated, “and I assumed that it was because he was an escaped Arkham inmate that Batman feels responsible for. But what if it’s not, what if it is a failed vigilante?”

“That actually makes sense, assuming I can find dirt on the outliers,” Karen turned back into her computer and started her research, “It would explain why Blue started working with him and why he stopped killing after meeting Blue.”

* * *

 

Asami walked over to the flowerbeds of the house where Shelly was working.

“Can I help?” Asami asked.

Shelly nodded. “Of course! Here, I have an extra pair of gloves- if you could help me remove these weeds, that would be great.”

Asami knelt down next to Shelly, and began to work.

“You know Jaime,” Asami began.

“Oh yes, of course! He would come over all the time, and he was always the first one to know when Tye wanted to run away.”

“Jaime is very important to Tye. Maybe more important than me. After all, friendship that lasts many years is very strong, very important.”

A twitch of Shelly’s lip gave a hint of guilt.

“Jaime went missing. Tye and I have been searching for leads, asking friends for leads. And last night, we found a video. It is recent and it showed Jaime in danger in Gotham. Tye wants to go to Gotham.”

Shelly looked over at the teenager. “Asami, Gotham is dangerous. There are people like the Joker there.”

“It might be dangerous. Tye and I met in a situation that was dangerous. I ran away from a situation that was dangerous.”

Shelly looked down at the flowers, staring down at her hands, eyes shining. She was starting to breathe heavily.

“I do not say this to be mean. But Tye said that Jaime put himself in danger to search for him. Now Tye wants to do the same. And Tye has powers; I have seen him fight Reach soldiers with weapons without getting injured. I have fought Reach soldiers without getting injured.”

Shelly folded her hands. “But, Asami, you and Tye are all I have now. I can’t lose him.”

Asami nodded, placing an arm around Shelly’s back.

“I know. That is why I want to go with Tye; to look out for him. We will have another friend with powers with us. Also,” Asami said, smiling, “even if we do not find Jaime, we can look at colleges.”

Shelly nodded. “Right. Jaime is always such a good kid. You and Tye can go, but you have to be back before school starts again. Also, you have to call me every day; I want to hear from both of you that you are alright.”

“Thank you,” Asami said, smiling. She then pulled up a few more weeds. “I will tell Tye and get ready. Alright?”

Shelly sighed. “Go ahead. Just- make him promise to be careful.”

“I will.” Asami got up, and entered the house.

Tye ran down the steps. “Well? What did she say?”

“Yes. But we must call her every day, and promise to be careful, and be back before school.”

Tye grinned.

“Sam, you are a miracle worker!” He then pulled her in for a quick kiss.


	8. Road trip to Gotham

  
Most teenagers would be embarrassed by their mom dropping them and their girlfriend off at a bus stop. Most teenagers would be even more embarrassed by their best friend’s family meeting them there. But Tye had never been most teenagers.

So when his mom hugged him, Tye made sure to squeeze back. He let Mrs. Reyes thank all of them, and didn’t cringe or blush as she went on to buy their bus tickets. He accepted the bag of baked goods and snacks with a calm determination, and firmly shook Mr. Reyes’ hand. He did his best not to glance over at where Asami pinkie-sweared to Milagro to bring Jaime home safely. When the bus finally pulled up, all three of them looked into the eyes of the Reyes family, nodded, and gave hopeful smiles as they boarded the bus.

In all honesty, pulling away from El Paso was a relief.

At first, there was silence. Then, Ed broke it. “So, that was Jaime’s family. They’re- enthusiastic.”

“They’re amazing. They never minded when I came over at three in the morning, and I swear Mrs. Reyes could stare down Batman,” Tye said. He kept looking out the window, towards the disappearing El Paso.

“Then they will make sure your mother is fine,” Asami said. 

Tye waved a hand. “It’s not that. At least, not completely.”

“Never managed to make it to a bus going far from El Paso?” Ed asked casually.

Tye’s mouth twitched. “Yeah. Every time I was about to, I would call Jaime to say good bye, and he’d convince me to stay. If the Reach hadn’t kidnapped me, I would have stayed that night.”

“But now you can leave during the day, knowing you can come back,” Asami said, brushing some hair out of his face. “You have a real home. We all have a real home now.”

The three contemplated that. The time for Virgil to pipe in and make a joke came and passed in silence. Ed started drumming his fingers against the window.

“So, Sam. Can I ask- what were you running from?”

Asami’s face snapped towards Ed. She frowned, and looked at Tye. Tye leaned towards her, placing his hands on one of hers. She leaned slightly towards him, and sighed. 

“My parents were very busy. I was home alone with nothing but a note telling me what to do, and maybe money to buy any food we did not have. I had friends at school, but I did not tell them about my home life. I would be with them often.”

Ed nodded, leaning in with his hands folded. His eyes were focused, accepting, and not judging.

Asami continued. “When they were home, they would only talk about what I did wrong. ‘Asami, you eat too much.’ ‘Asami, you did not get a perfect score on your exam.’ ‘Asami, you wear the clothes wrong’. But it did not matter, because I had my friends. However, when the time came, my parents made me go to a different, more well known, high school. I did not have friends there, and was bullied. The other students would mock me, write bad things on my desk, and steal my shoes. One day, a teacher sent home a note to my parents. It said ‘Asami is being bullied, the students would not pick on her so much if she was more friendly’. After that, my parents said much crueler things to me, yelled at me, told me how bad I was when they did so much for me, and when I did the wrong thing they would pull my hair or slap me. I could not take it anymore, so I ran. I will never go back.”

“And you never will have to,” Ed said.

“The adoption papers my mom has aren’t for show; you really are family,” Tye said, giving her a one armed hug.

Asami leaned into the hug, and nestled her face into Tye’s shoulder. 

“Thank you,” she whispered. “Thank you all so much.”

Tye rubbed her back, and if his shirt got a little wet on the shoulder, he didn’t say a thing. 

“Thank you for being such an amazing friend,” Ed said, sending her a small smile.

 

* * *

Cassie stuck a tongue out as she adjusted the goggles that came with her short, black wig. Karen rolled her eyes, and said, “You look amazing. Stop playing around with it.”

Cassie gave a sheepish smile. “Sorry. They are cool, but I guess I’m just not used to them yet.”

Karen smiled. “Alright, just as long as you stop fiddling.” 

They walked up to the bus, and held out their tickets for the bus driver. As they made their way to their seats, Karen spoke. 

“Just remember, no costume talk.”

Cassie smiled, and gave a thumbs up. “I can do that! So, tell me what college is like.”

“Well, at first you might be deceived into thinking you have more free time than high school…”

 

* * *

“ No, pronounce it like this,” Asami said. “ _ Kore wa Nihongo de nanto iimasu ka. _ ”

Ed, after tripping over every letter, said, “I can speak Spanish and English fluently, but give me a phrase of Japanese and my mouth doesn’t know what to do with itself.”

Tye grinned. “Don’t worry, Ed, you’ll get it eventually. I know I’m starting to get some of it down.”

 

* * *

“Here’s the thing about my boyfriend, It’s always work with him, never a spare moment,” Cassie said, waving her hands. “I mean, I practically throw myself at him, begging for a mission, and he can’t keep his eyes off his laptop. He probably didn’t even notice when I said I was going to hang out with Jaime instead.”

Karen shook her head. “I don’t think I can really commiserate about that because I am pretty sure I am that person in my relationship. But trust me, we do pay attention, even if it might not seem like it.”

 

* * *

“-And that is why my dad was not allowed to give science demonstrations without my mom in the room for over a year,” Ed said. “Sometimes I imagine that there are still scorch marks.”

Tye laughed, and then said, “Oh man, that reminds me of the time that Paco switched the clothes of his sisters around, and each one blamed the other for stealing their outfits.”

Asami smiled. “Once, in cooking class, Ayumi managed to set the oil in her pan on fire…”

 

* * *

Karen leaned forward, wagging a finger at Cassie. “What’s your favorite food?”

Cassie leaned back, smiling. “Baklava.”

Karen tilted her head. “Really? I can’t say I’ve ever had it.”

Cassie leaned forward, grinning. “It is to die for, I have to take you somewhere that has it! Ah, the flakey pastry and the honey and the nuts… it’s perfect! But tell me, what’s your favorite food?”

Karen grinned. “It’s less of a food, and more of a drink. Mango lassi.”

Cassie raised an eyebrow. “Can’t say I’ve heard of that. Is it like a smoothie?”

“Sort of.”

 

* * *

“I really wish we could have used zeta tubes,” Ed said. “It’s been almost a day, and we’re not halfway across the country yet.”

“Yeah, but even if we managed to somehow get access, the League would know. And it’s kind of our only advantage that nobody knows to look out for us.”

“Besides, we walked the country before,” Asami added.

“Still,” Ed said, waving a hand in the air, “We were moving ourselves. And we had Roy and Virgil, and didn’t need to go anywhere in particular.”

“True enough,” Tye said. Then he yawned. “Let’s go to sleep, might make the hours pass by more quickly.”

 

* * *

“So spill,” Cassie asked with a sly grin, “What’s your most embarrassing moment?”

“Ok so it’s second hand mostly, but Mal criticizing Superman’s look right in front of uh...his biggest fan, was classic,” Karen said shaking her head, “not that Mal or I realized what he did at the time.”

Cassie’s grin became a full grin and she laughed so hard that she started to cry.

As Cassie struggled to compose herself Karen cut in, “My turn, what thing are you secretly a big fan of?

Between snorts Cassie asks, “Would you judge me if I said the Disney Hercules movie?”

“Why would that...” Karen stopped and her eyebrows went up, “oh.”

With Cassie still giggling, there was no way that Karen could hold back her laughter. 

 

* * *

“You know, I am really glad that nobody was recording when we teamed up with the League last June. Could you imagine how annoying it would be, to have everyone knowing your face when you’re just trying to get to class?” Tye said.

“That is why we made Virgil wear a mask,” Asami said.

“Exactly,” Ed added between bites of the snacks that Mrs. Reyes packed.

 

* * *

“So,” Cassie asked, “what about your life would change if you had a million dollars?”

Karen leaned back and looked out the window before answering, “You know I’d just get a bigger apartment.”

“That’s it?”

“ I may be stressed,” Karen explained with a sigh, “but I’m doing something really fulfilling, and besides I do love being able to say I am too busy which gets me out of  _ commitments  _ I’d rather not do.”

“Like meeting with the control freak of an advisor?” Cassie asked seriously.

“Yeah, like meetings with him.”

 

* * *

“We’ll be there tomorrow morning, so let’s review what we know,” Ed said.

Tye took out his phone. “Virgil last texted us about how Jaime jumped out of the Watchtower without his armor on, and is hanging with this Red Hood guy.”

Ed shook his head. “No, not about that. About why Virgil’s been acting so weird, and what’s going on up there.”

“Virgil remembered the first time, but not the second time,” Asami added.

“So you think whatever telepath did this to him got stronger the second time?” Ed had his chin in one hand, mulling it over.

Asami shook her head. “No. I think it was something we did.”

Tye’s eyes narrowed in thought. “What, yelling at him the first time?”

“Accusing him of abandoning a friend,” Ed said.

 

* * *

“So, first night back on patrol. How does the cold night air feel?” Red Hood said, jumping over rooftops as Blue Beetle flew by.

“ Well, I can’t feel the air through the armor, but it feels good to be out again,  _ esé _ .” 

The sound of gunfire echoed through the streets. 

“Ah, Gotham. Never a night without something. Bit different from El Paso, huh?” Red Hood said even as he changed direction.

“I’m used to gunfire,” Jaime said casually, “but usually it’s from a range or someone trying to scare off a mountain lion, bullets aren’t shot at people that often.”

The stooped on the roof of a building next to the street with the commotion. Together, they looked down on the fight; two rival gangs going at it in the streets. 

“Well well well, look at the kiddies.” 

Red Hood spoke casually, but enough volume that it boomed across the street. Both gangs looked up to see the vigilantes nonchalantly standing there.

“It’s Blue Beetle! Run!” 

At the shout of one of the gang members, people from both sides began to scatter. Some even abandoned their illegally bought guns as they ran. Only a handful were brave, or foolish, enough to remain.

“Hey, this is Gotham! You can’t come in on our turf,” said one of those guys who stayed. 

The remaining gang members then forgot their prior fight and turned their fire towards the vigilantes. Blue Beetle and Red Hood sprung into action; the remaining gangsters were quickly beaten down, or knocked unconscious by a low level sonic cannon blast. 

Red Hood and Blue Beetle then made their rounds.Red Hood tied the gangsters up with rope, and kicked any guns he saw towards Blue Beetle. Blue Beetle then destroyed each of those guns, opting not to use his staples on the gangsters to prevent the property damage and annoyed police officers that followed them being removed.

Jaime turned around at the sound of a bullet glancing off something, only to see a gangster on the ground with a gun to his head.

“Red Hood, what are you doing?” Jaime asked, looking the man in the eyes.

“He tried to shoot you in the back.”

“I’m fine, and I think he’s learned his lesson. We can give him a second chance.”

“Are you sure about that Blue?” Red Hood asked him.

He kicked at the raven tattoo on the man’s arm before speaking again, “Because I seem to recall he already had a second chance. Remember you saved this scum’s life before and yet...”

Now Jaime recognized the man. Both from the tattoo and the scars peaking out from behind his shirt collar. It was nice to see that he survived his experience at the Thanksgiving day parade, but less nice to see what he had been up to since then.

“A third chance then,” Jaime stated firmly, “He can’t hurt us or anyone else here now.”

“But he could in the future. This type of scum would sell out his parents for a buck, what’s to stop him from selling you out to the Justice League?”

_ [The Red Hood is right- enemies should be dispatched.] _

“I thought we were past the point where you suggested using lethal force,” Jaime muttered. 

However, his voice carried, and Red Hood lowered his gun.

“You’re right,” Red Hood then spoke directly to the man, “But this time you better remember who saved you.”

_ [Recent events show that greater caution is required.]  _ Still, the scarab chirped an apology.

The vigilantes watched the captured gang members in silence until the sound of wailing sirens broke through the night air. 

“We better scatter,” was the last thing they heard the Red Hood say before the two vigilantes disappeared.

 

* * *

Maxwell Lord stood in his lab, looking over the shoulder of Atom. Not that Atom minded the hovering in the least, he simply continued to look at the provided samples with a glazed look. But then again people under Max’s thrall were not known for arguing with him.

“Did we get everything we need?” Max asked firmly. 

“Yes,” Atom answered mechanically, “The nanites are calibrated and in perfect working order. The control mechanism is set so that only you can use it.” 

“And replication?” Max pushed.

“Better than expected, we should reach needed quantities by the winter solstice. However-”

Max forced Atom to face him, “However?” 

“With our current computing power of the watchtower, we would only be able to control a small fraction of the OMACs at one time.” 

Max clenched his jaw. The muscles in his neck twitched.

“I need to be able to control all of them” he ground out, blood leaking from his nose, “how can I do that.”

Atom shuttered for a moment before answering mechanically.

“The scarab originally created these nanites. If the signal is routed through it, we should be able to use its control protocol and drastically increase the number of usable OMACs. But to do that we would need direct access to the scarab.”

“I can do that,” Max said, waving Atom back to his work.

Max strode out of the lab, into his office. He sat at his computer and pulled up the latest Gotham Times. He scrolled through the latest news, looking for the latest crime by Red Hood. 

Honestly he had no idea what Jaime saw in that menace, but it was the best thing that could have happened. It all but confirmed his story of Jaime going on mode, and with the path of destruction that Red Hood was leaving it was the number one priority of Gotham PD and Batman to catch the man. And when he was caught, Max would get Jaime, to save him from the mode. 

But the opinion piece on the Red Hood he found made him hesitate. Now he could see what the kid was doing. Red Hood’s murder rate was dropping like a stone, and the urgency for finding him along with it. He had to stop Blue Beetle now, before he managed to unite all of Gotham’s rogues against him. It was hard enough to control the heros in the watchtower in line; he didn’t want to worry about external threats.

He left his office, briskly strolling into the rec room. It was there that he found several members of Young Justice spending their free time. He walked up to them with a smile and a small amount of blood leaking from his nose.

“ Ahh, Robin, Superboy, Kid Flash, just who I wanted to see...”

 


	9. Converge on Gotham

“You know, it is much easier to stop gang wars and take down mobsters now that I have my own personal army. Not that it wasn’t easy before, it’s just that people tend to take you more seriously when you’re standing next to a guy with a plasma cannon,” Red Hood said, standing over the stove in the safe house.

Jaime chuckled as the armor folded back into his scarab. “Honestly, I think you could scare the bad guys off all by yourself. And you did give me a place to stay that wouldn’t endanger my family.”

“What can I say, us vigilantes need to stick together when the rest of the world gives up on us. Pasta’s ready, by the way.”

Jaime frowned as he walked over with two bowls in hand.

“Look, Jason, anything that’s been happening with the League since Max came on board isn’t completely their fault. ”

“I know, I know,” Jason said, waving a fork in the air, “But still Max isn’t the first super villain they have dropped the ball on. The Joker treats prison like a revolving door. And he spends every day either killing innocent people, or planning how to kill more people. He’s not like the petty crooks out there, doing it out of desperation or stupidity. All he wants is chaos, death, and destruction. And he might be locked up now, but it is only a matter of time until he gets out again. And when he does, more people will die.”

Jason hesitated covering his pause by filling the bowls with pasta, “I still plan on stopping him, whatever it takes.”

“I know,” Jaime said softly, “it won’t stop me from trying to find a non-lethal way, but I think I understand.”

Jaime paused before speaking again, “There is one thing I don’t understand though.”

“What?”

“Why did you want to kill people who weren’t the Joker?”

Jason winced, then shrugged. “It just seemed like the only way to keep threats from coming back.”

[ _The Red Hood’s logic is similar to that which this scarab possessed.]_

Jaime laughed into his hand, and Jason turned toward him.

“What’s so funny?”

“The scarab basically said that you reminded him of himself, _esé_.”

Jason grinned. “I’ll take that as a compliment. By the way, have you given any thought as to what to do with this Lord guy?”

Jaime’s face fell, and he poked at his food.

“Even healed, we can’t take on the entire Justice League and team,” he whispered, “I mean maybe I could if I unleashed the full power of the scarab and didn’t care about the lives of the people I was trying to save but...”

“So we can’t do a head-on strike,” Jason said, “what about breaking his control?”

Jaime shrugged helplessly, “the only way the scarab knows how to prevent him from giving commands is not an option.”

“Because it involves killing?”

Jaime winced, “Yeah. I know there has to be another way. I just don’t have the background to think of.”

Jaime rubbed his hand and glanced over at Ted’s notes, “This is exactly why he sought out a team. Because even in the rare cases Ted couldn’t figure something out, he could always find someone else that could. But that is useless since I am sure that my team won’t exactly be receptive to brainstorming ways to take him down.”

“Well, the League and team don’t contain all the superheroes in the world,” Jason pointed out, “we just have to contact them undetected.”

* * *

 

“That didn’t take as long as I expected,” Cassie smiled at Karen, “So now what?”

“This is Gotham so the same as in the wilderness, food and shelter. I’ll ask about for cheap places to stay if you could get us something to eat. Meet me back here in twenty minutes?”

“Right,” Cassie saluted at Karen, keeping her grin firmly on her face.

For once things really seemed to be going there way. Even the convenience store, Wawa’s, that she found was perfect, no stale week old sandwiches and cheap hotdogs as the only choice here.

She grabbed their drinks first, a sport’s drink for herself and something with mango for Karen. Next she went to the counter and picked out two mouth watering sandwiches. She liked both meats, so she figured that Karen could just choose her favorite.

She moved into the line and waited to pay, glancing back once to check if there was a sandwich that she missed. That was when she saw the boy about her age with long black hair and an orange bandana, pondering over the sandwiches. He felt so familiar, like a word caught on the tip of her tongue.

She was still trying to place him when he spoke.

“Look, I have a girlfriend,” he said.

Cassie started to respond but the right words would not come, besides it wasn’t like she could just ask if he was an alter ego or some civilian that she had saved. Especially not since she was on the run. Cassie closed her mouth again, she could feel a flush coming on and had to say something. Eventually she went with the obvious,

“I have a boyfriend. Just, you seem familiar. Have we met?”

The boy shrugged, and replied, “Probably not.”

And Cassie was saved from any more of the awkward meeting by being called forward to pay. After paying she walked out the door without a backwards glance. Karen really didn’t need to know about the confused not flirting that took place. Karen had already taken to humming ‘I won’t say (I’m in love)’ to make her laugh, and one embarrassing thing was enough for this bus ride.

* * *

 

“Finally!” Tye said, practically jumping out of the bus.

“It feels good to stretch our legs,” Asami said.

“Here,” Ed said as he threw the bag Mrs. Reyes gave them at Tye. “We ate everything on the bus, and you have the money. Asami and I will get the bags.”

Tye nodded. “Leave it to me.”

Tye went into the store with big red letters saying ‘Wawa’, and looked around. Opting for getting the pre-made sandwiches instead of ordering a specially made one, he looked over and mentally calculated which ones his friend and girlfriend would like the most versus the price. After picking up a turkey, tuna, and BLT sandwich, he looked up to see a girl standing in the cash register line staring at him.

He looked up, and brushed it off. He went to grab some drinks, and noticed the girl glancing back at him. By the time he got in line, there was another person between them, but Tye couldn’t help but feel offput by her constant glances.

“Look, I have a girlfriend,” he said.

The girl opened her mouth in shock, closed it, and stared. “I have a boyfriend. Just, you seem familiar. Have we met?”

Tye shrugged. “Probably not.”

Then the line moved forward, and the girl paid for her food and left. Tye brushed off the meeting; after all, Gotham was known for being weird.

* * *

 

Standing on top of a building, Red Hood pointed in the direction of a warehouse as he trained his binoculars on it.

“See that place? It’s homebase for a smuggling ring, and that’s where we’re targeting tonight. First, though, let’s see what- oh. Blue, go back to base.”

“Uh, why?” Jaime said, walking closer to the edge of the roof before Red Hood thrust his arm out, making a ‘stop’ motion.

“Because I’m pretty sure that Superboy is down there, waiting around with a brown haired kid and a guy with black hair and the typical Robin-esque sunglasses at night,” he muttered as a car roared by.

“So we take them out together. What’s the big deal, _esé_?” Jaime said, looking at him.

“They must be looking for you, and if Superboy walks a few feet closer to us, we’ll be in range of his hearing,” Red Hood said.

“Yeah, that’s the point; so they don’t look for me in my home. Otherwise my family wouldn’t be safe,” Jaime muttered.

“They should think you’re here, not know it.” Red Hood said firmly, “we’re splitting up. I’m making sure they don’t get close to the safehouse, and you’re going back there to lay low and double check the soundproofing.”

“That’ll be dangerous for you, I’ve got the armor to keep me safe. I know I can fight them,” Jaime said, carefully looking Red Hood in the eyes.

“And I’ve got training. Besides how do you think they will feel when they wake up and find out that they hurt you?”

Jaime cringed at the thought, and said, “Alright, you win. But be careful.”

Jaime then used the team’s stealth training to get off of the rooftop without a sound. Once on the ground he let his armor recede. He pulled his jacket’s hood as far over his face as he could, completing the look with a scarf like Red Hood had taught him. He then carefully and anonymously made his way back to the safehouse.

Red Hood watched until Blue Beetle was out of sight. He then stood up and used his grappling hook so that he would swing away from the warehouse full of criminals that wanted to use him as a target and no where near the path Jaime was probably taking. This arc meant that he swung into range of Superboy’s hearing, and with that he picked up three tails.

Red Hood grinned. Leading them to an abandoned warehouse district was easy; now came the hard part.

“So, what honor do I owe Young Justice to get three of their members all to myself?” he said as he turned to face his tail.

“A long list of murders,” Superboy growled.

Red Hood shrugged. “Eh, they were criminal scum anyway.”

He punctuated his sentence by throwing a grenade at Superboy’s feet.

As predicted, Superboy jumped on the grenade to protect the other two. Unexpected was the fact that the brown haired kid scooped up the new Robin and took him away from the explosion in five seconds.

“So, you must be Kid Flash then. The not dead one, I mean,” Red Hood said as he jumped to avoid the boy lunging at him. “Speedsters. So predictable.”

He then barely avoided a sweep of a bo staff. Jason grabbed Robin by the shoulders, and kicked himself off the boy.

“Batman’s trained you well, replacement,” Jason said, as he followed up with a punch, he added, “But I’m better.”

The next thing Jason knew, he was being lifted up from behind.

“Let’s see how you do against me!” Superboy roared.

One-on-one combat training never felt more useful. Red Hood slipped out of Superboy’s hold, and turned around. He flipped Superboy over his back in a way that would have had the floor at the cave say ‘Fail’, and then flicked a smoke pellet right at Superboy’s face.

Hoping that the smoke pellet stunned Superboy long enough, Jason made an escape and took a winding path to make sure he wasn’t being followed.

After a half hour without another encounter he took off his helmet, put it in a canvas bag, zipped up his coat and went back to the safe house looking like any other teenager on the street.

* * *

 

“Thanks, Commissioner,” Robin said. “We won’t be long.”

Commissioner Gordon waved one hand. “No problem, Robin. Just hope you get the lead you and your friends are looking for.”

Robin and Superboy went into the interrogation room, sitting across from a recently arrested gang member. He had a raven tattoo and scars peaking out from underneath his shirt.

“So, I’ve heard you survived a run-in with the Red Hood,” Robin said, “anything you can tell us about him?”

“Why should I?” the gangster replied, crossing his arms.

“Because Red Hood has been killing criminals like you at an impressive rate. I figure you would want someone like that off the streets,” Superboy said casually.

The gangster paled. “That man is a monster. Most of the guys fled when they saw him, but those of us that stuck around were taken down in a few minutes.”

“Nobody else was with him?” Robin leaned forward, “No accomplices?”

“Why do you care if anyone was with him?”

Robin glared at the gangster, “Because we know he’s been traveling with a buddy. Blue Beetle, a hero gone rogue. You’d probably recognize him from Television.”

Robin sighed and leaned back, “Look the point is if we can take either one of them off of the street your risk of being murdered when you walk out of here is substantially lower. We’ve had reports placing him at the scene. So what will it be, help us help you by telling us everything you saw, or keep lying and risk an obstruction of justice charge?”

Robin was bluffing. None of the other gang members had placed him at the scene. So the only confirmed sighting was the original one from over a week ago. Still Robin hoped that it would be enough to get the man to talk.

The gangster shuddered and then steeled his expression. “Red Hood was alone.”

* * *

 

“Well that was a dead end,” Bart said as they walked down the streets of Gotham. “Nobody’s seen Blue at all. That infiltrator is doing a pretty good job of laying low.”

“I just wonder what the scarab wants to do, now that the Reach can’t conquer Earth without disastrous consequences,” Robin said.

“The Reach could claim that he’s a rogue agent, like they did with the Ambassador. But don’t worry, we won’t let it get that far,” Conner said. “The Reach are not going to get this planet.”

“Or Jaime,” Bart pressed stopping in front of Conner, “They are not going to get him, again.”

Conner looked down at him, “We don’t know how much of Jaime is even left in there, after that stunt the scarab pulled.”

“He’s in there, he’s got to be,” Bart responded, “And we have the best scientists on the Watchtower to get him back out. Assuming we can find him here and get him there.”

The group fell silent and the tension was thick in the air. Even the normally oblivious citizens of Gotham seemed to feel it. Robin watched one girl with short black hair and goggles look away and hurry past them, before turning back to Conner and Bart.

“Still we’re not getting anything here, and something that Red Hood guy said concerns me.” Robin said with a sigh, “I need to go back to the watchtower, and get in touch with Nightwing.”

Conner grinned beneath his scarf. “Good call. While you do that, Bart and I will see if we can figure out what the Reach are up to.”

Robin led them to the nearest Zeta tube, and Bart complained to himself.

“How exactly are we going to find out more about the Reach it’s not like we have an expert around...” Bart stopped and grinned, “Except B’razz, he’d totally know how to fix this. Right?”

Conner just nodded, and the group hurried back to the Watchtower. Once the computer had finished announcing their presence Robin quickly left to one of secure communications room.

Bart and Conner went the opposite direction to where the Earth Mars communications was. Without the satellite there was not a whole lot of bandwidth available, but it was enough for a single simple video feed.

Bart rushed into the room first, flicking on every switch that he could get his hands on. Conner arrived a minute later to the sound of computers powering on. With everything in the room running it did not take long for Conner to establish contact.

Before B’razz had a chance to greet them, Bart was speaking.

“Do you know if the Reach had any other plans for Earth? Or any history of what a rogue scarab would do if it took over a host without them there?”

“The Reach had not yet deployed Earth’s enforcer, so the only scarab left on you plant would be Jaime’s and it would not betray him.”

“But it did,” Bart argued back, “it forced Jaime out an airlock, weakening him so that it could take control.”

B’razz fell silent, but his reply never came. Instead Wonder Woman appeared behind him and with a single look demanded time at the link.

“Kid Flash I need a status report now, why have the communications been down for almost a month? Has something happened to the Watchtower?”

“The Watchtower is fine,” Bart responded, “And I have no idea why the communications would be down.”

“But,” Conner broke in “We did have a rouge Reach agent on the Watchtower. He could have done something.”

Diana frowned and B’razz spoke again.

“You said that the scarab did not take over until after Jaime was forced out of the Watchtower. How could he break the system?”

Neither Conner nor Bart have a chance to respond before the screen went dark. Max was standing behind them, blood under his nose and cables in his hand. When he spoke it was deathly calm.

“The timeline is unimportant, what matters is stopping Blue Beetle and bringing him back here. Now where is Robin?”

* * *

 

“I hate this plan,” Cassie mumbled beneath her scarf, her arms folded against the winter chill.

Karen sighed, “It’s our best chance; after all, it’s not like we can just put up a big sign saying-”

“Come up and rob me?” came a deep voice from the shadows, “well, I think you did.”

Karen and Cassie looked around; several more gangsters came out of the shadows, most of them with guns. They all had black bandanas on their arms.

“Sorry, ladies, but in these parts, you have to pay a toll to Black Mask for living,” another chimed in.

“Funny. I thought this was Red Hood territory,” said a voice from on top of a building.

Several dropped their weapons and ran. Those that didn’t soon found themselves being punched, kicked, and tied up by Red Hood.

Cassie and Karen exchanged a grin before ducking out of his way. The watched the fight until Cassie noticed a gangster pointing a gun at Red Hood’s back. She instinctively deflected it away with her bracelets.

After all the gangsters were on the ground, Red Hood turned to Cassie and Karen and said, “You aren’t civilians.”

Cassie sheepishly shrugged, “no, we’re not. But we just want to talk, okay?”

Red Hood gave both of them a once-over, sighed, and shook his head.

“Meet me on that rooftop- we can talk there.”

Red Hood didn’t wait for them to respond. He took out a grappling hook and parkoured himself to the roof. Right behind him Cassie grabbed Karen and just flew up.

“So, you’re either Miss Martian or that Wonder Girl character,” He said peering at her closely, “I’m betting Wonder Girl.”

Cassie nodded, “And this is Bumblebee. We want to know- is Jaime alright?”

Red Hood crossed his arms, “What makes you think I won’t give you the same answer I gave your teammates last night?”

“Because we’re on the run from Max. Look, you don’t have to tell us where he is; just tell us if he’s okay,” Karen said.

Red Hood tilted his head, “Last I saw of him, he was fine. Now, why aren’t you puppets of Max with your teammates?”

Cassie grinned, “My powers come from the Greek Gods, so we think my divine nature protects me.”

“And you?” Red Hood asked, pointing a knife at Karen.

She rolled her eyes.

“I take really good notes,” she said, taking out her notebook and letting Red Hood take it for inspection.

Red Hood flipped through it, handed it back, and nodded.

“Alright. Do you have a phone number?”

The girls looked at each other.

“I left mine in my civvies on the Watchtower,” Cassie said.

“I ditched mine back in Rhode Island so that I couldn’t be tracked,” Karen said.

Cassie frowned, then grinned. “Wait, I have the one you took the battery out of when we came off the Watchtower!”

Cassie took the phone and the battery out, then slid them into place and passed the phone to Karen. Karen opened it, and smiled at the lack of password and ignored the missed texts and calls messages. She went into the phone information section, and showed it to Red Hood.

“Here. Contact us with that phone number.”

Red Hood quickly memorized the digits.

“Be careful,” he said, then disappeared into the night.

“Cassie, if this phone isn’t yours, where did you get it from?” Karen asked.

Cassie blushed. “Uh, I kind of took it from Virgil because he was texting when Max told us about Blue.”

“Really?” Karen asked, smiling and shaking her head.

“Well, I was going to give it back after the briefing,” Cassie muttered. “Anyway, let’s go back to the hotel, get some hot chocolate, and see what Virgil was texting about while we wait for a call.”

Karen stretched her arms out. “Might as well. Lead on, Stealer Girl.”

* * *

 

Nightwing glared at the incoming message over his secure line. The team knew that he wanted time to himself. Besides the only case that he could see himself being useful on would be the Red Hood case. Not that he could fathom why they would call him now, Red Hood murders were way down. There was only one other reason; someone found something, something about Wally.

Dick answered his line, and Tim wasted no time getting down to business.

“I’m sorry to call, but this is about Red Hood and Blue Beetle...”

“Oh,” Nightwing couldn’t keep the disappointment out of his voice. “Tell Beetle to keep doing whatever he’s doing.”

“Huh?”

“Is it a Batman thing? Is he pissed Blue’s in Gotham? Just point out that Red hasn’t killed anyone in the last week, that at least should make him rethink.”

“He hasn’t killed anyone recently?” Tim’s voice sounded confused over the line.

“I thought you were taking the lead on this case, every major news organization is talking about it.”

“And you think Blue...” Tim faltered.

“Kid made friends with a homicidal alien A.I. and changed it so much that its creators had to capture and torture him to attempt to figure out what he did.”

Tim didn’t answer right away and when Dick heard rapid breathing over the phone he instantly shifted into Big Brother mode.

“Timmy, what’s wrong?”

“Headache,” Tim replied sharply, his voice turning from confused to forceful, “Jaime is not with Red Hood, he is in none of the recent photos. That lead will get us nowhere. Nightwing if anyone asks you that is what you must say, ok? And you can’t trust anyone in the watchtower, not even me and especially not...”

Dick jumped when the call was disconnected. And he was halfway out the door when the secure line rang again. He immediately answered it.

“Sorry about that Nightwing, it’s been a long day. What were we talking about again?”

Although Dick was relieved to hear Tim’s voice, the question sent chills down his spine.

“You wanted my advice on the Red Hood and Blue Beetle case.”

“Right, Beetle is working with Hood now, we think that he is back on mode.”

Dick took a deep breath and repeated what Tim had told him.

“Listen I’ve been looking into the Red Hood case, and there is only one photo of him and Blue together. Only one old photo, the more recent ones show Red Hood alone, Beetle’s not with him anymore.”

“That’s good actually,” Tim sighed, “Now we don’t have to send another team into Gotham to track him down. I mean even though Batman authorized it, he couldn’t have been happy with other heroes in Gotham.”

“Right, of course.”

“Thanks.”

“Oh and,” Dick hesitated before ending the call, “just don’t die ok?”   


	10. Come togeather, right now

“You know, I have never seen Virgil zone out at a mission briefing before,” Karen commented from the bed as she scrolled back through angry texts, “tell me exactly what happened.”

Cassie sat down on the bed, and said, “Well, he wasn’t really zoning out. He was looking up occasionally, and after I took the phone away he talked about how Jaime didn’t look on mode. Then Max made Virgil agree with him, and that’s when I tried to punch Max and ran into you. What are you looking at in the phone?”

“Seeing what he was texting,” Karen commented, “He’s got a lot of messages from Tye Longshadow, Eduardo Dorado, and Asami Koizumi.”

“Tye Longshadow… that name sounds familiar.”

“Should be. Tye is friends with Jaime, and was one of the kids whose metagene was activated by the Reach. Long black hair, gray eyes, likes the color orange?”

Cassie sat straight up. “Does he have an orange headband?”

Karen shrugged. “Every time I’ve seen him. And in his contact profile photo on this phone.” Karen waved said phone for emphasis, and got back to scrolling through the texts.

Cassie gasped. “I saw him in Gotham! When we arrived, he was at the store!”

Karen looked over at Cassie. “We’re a long way from El Paso. What would he be doing here?”

Then the phone rang, and Cassie grabbed and answered it. Before she could even get out a ‘hello’, the person on the other end began ranting.

“Virgil, what the hell man? Not only do you abandon your friends, but you don’t answer the phone for a few days after you basically told me that my best friend-”

“ This isn’t Virgil.  _ Virgil _ is currently being controlled by an evil megalomaniac who plans to do God-knows-what with the League and Team,” Cassie ground out.

“...Who is this?”

“Wonder Girl, Mr-” Cassie took the phone away from her ear for a second to look at the caller ID- “Longshadow.”

An exasperated sigh came from the other end of the phone.

“I know it isn’t Virgil’s fault, but the last time I yelled at him for abandoning a friend, he gained back his memory.”

Cassie’s eyes widened.

“Hold on, I’m putting you on speakerphone.” Cassie said placing the phone on the bed. “Are you saying you managed to break Virgil free of Max’s control?”

“The dude doing the control is Max, fancy PR guy on TV with the League all the time?”

“Yeah, that guy. Look, we should talk.”

“We are talking.” Tye pointed out sharply.

“Face to face. I have another superhero who isn’t being controlled with me; we could agree to go somewhere public,” Cassie added.

“I’m not sure.”

“You are in Gotham looking for Jaime, I know because It turns out that we did meet before Mr. I-have-a-girlfriend. Give me a place to meet, and we can trade notes; the sooner we do that, the sooner you can find your friend.”

There was a pause. “Meet at the Wayne Public Library in five hours.”

“Got it,” Cassie said, hanging up the phone, “Guess we're going to have to brave the cold again.”

“Looks like it,” Karen agreed, “We could go now and scope it out but you said you saw some team members yesterday.”

Cassie bit her lip, “scoping it out would be smart, but I'd rather not push our luck.”

Karen leaned over and set the hotel alarm clock, “I guess now we wait.”

“Yeah,” Cassie said, falling silent for a second before speaking again, “Tye said yelling at Virgil managed to free him. Do you think we can use that against Max?”

“It depends on why,” Karen answered thoughtfully, “but knowing it is possible is a big point in our favor.”

“He said that he was yelling that Virgil had abandoned his friends, and I think we could make a very good case to anyone else on the team that they have abandoned friends because of Max.”

“Maybe,” Karen said slowly, “But you shouted at him, at all of them for abandoning Blue already.”

“Oh,” Cassie said softly, “right.”

“So it can't just be that line,” Karen continued, “maybe it has something to do with an argument itself. And anger can break them free. Or maybe Tye lucked onto a trigger word, like hypnotists use. And I don't think we can know more until we have a long talk with them about what happened.”

“Right,” Cassie said, but any further conversation was cut off by the ringing of Virgil's phone.

She imitatively answered it, “hello.”

“Hey, tiny wonder- where are you staying?” Red Hood asked, “We’ll come to you.”

Cassie looked at Karen, pointed to the phone, and then pointed down at her bed. Karen nodded once. And Cassie rattled off the hotel name and room number.

As soon as she was done he hung up the phone.

“Hood's coming here?” Karen asked.

“Yeah.”

They waited in tense silence as the minutes ticked by. They were on high alert listening carefully to every noise. Still that did not keep Cassie from jumping when there was a knock at their window.

“We’re three stories up, and Max would have gotten the team to just grab us,” Karen said, standing up and opening the window.

Red Hood came in. He left the window open but no one else followed him in.

“I thought you and Blue were coming?” Cassie asked.

“I had to make sure this wasn't a trap,” Hood said flatly as he grabbed the phone from Cassie.

“Hey!” Cassie glared at him.

He raised his hands slightly, “I’m just checking to make sure you’re not telling Max anything. I can’t believe this phone doesn’t have a password.”

They waited in silence as he scrolled through the phone.

“Not that I don't like this guy's style, because I do.” Hood finally said, “but it concerns me that you just spoke on the phone with him.”

Karen squared her shoulders at Hood, “Well if you paid attention to those texts, you’d see that there are three non-League or team affiliated superheroes...”

“Three- you mean Tye, Sam, and Ed?” Jaime's excited voice came from the window.

He jumped into the room quickly, but not gracefully. Cassie pulling him into an excited hug was the only thing that kept him from falling flat on his face.

Hood meanwhile had his head in his hands, “you're supposed to wait until after I give the signal to come in.”

Jaime pulled back from Cassie and rubbed the back of his neck.

“Sorry.”

Red Hood shrugged, “it worked out, you just could have had a more dramatic entrance.”

Jaime shrugged and turned to Karen, “I'm glad to see you are alright, and sorry about dumping your books everywhere.”

“My... you hid them?” Karen asked.

“No, you did, when we went to investigate Max together,” Jaime held his hands up, “not that I blame you. He made you forget.”

Cassie looked between Karen and Jaime, “What happened?”

Jaime opened his mouth to answer but Karen held up a finger.

“Don't say anymore about it,” she told him firmly.

Jaime looked away, “sorry.”

“No, this is a good thing,” Karen told him putting her hand on his shoulder, “we have a memory that we know was lost, and we know what it is supposed to be.”

“How exactly is that a good thing?” Hood asked.

Karen grinned, “because Tye said that they was able to get Virgil to remember, and now we have a way to test it.”

Cassie grinned as well, “And not only that, but they are in Gotham. Right now. We're meeting them at Wayne Public Library in four hours. You can see them then.”

Jaime grinned but Red Hood put up a hand, “We can be there in civvies, hiding. But we are not coming out until we confirm that they are clean.”

“They're clean,” Karen insisted.

“How can you be sure?” Hood questioned her, “wouldn't going after his friend be the smart thing to do.”

Karen crossed her arms, “if they knew enough to go after Blue, then they should also be going after Wonder Girl here.”

“Why?” Red Hood asked, unconvinced.

“Because I tried to punch Max in the face.” Cassie answered, “Karen thinks the divine nature of my powers protects me. So when Max was making the League and team believe that Blue was on mode again with simple sentences, I knew something was very wrong.”

“So you tried to punch him in the face?” Hood asked lightly.

“Of course,” Cassie answered, “I just didn't realize how much control he had. If Karen hadn't helped me escape, I think Superman would have killed me.”

“Stealth isn't your strong suit, is it?” Red Hood snickered before turning on Karen, “But why were you able to help her?”

“Because I take really good notes,” she said showing Hood her journal, “and since getting it back I've made sure to be 'studying' instead of being in the same room as Max.”

”That is a good point, but we still need to be cautious. Besides how do you think they will react if they see twice as many people as they originally planned to meet? Nah, I think we’ll go for a dramatic entrance.” Red Hood leaned back. “Don’t worry; I’m sure you two can talk them into meeting us.”

 

* * *

“Why did we choose the roof of the library again?” Ed asked as they waited. 

“More escape options, easier to see,” Asami said.

“It’s dark,” Ed pointed out.

“We’re in a city. Anyway, here they come,” Tye said.

The thudding of footsteps resounded, and the door to the roof opened. “Tye, Asami, Eduardo,” Karen acknowledged.

“It’s ‘Ed’,” Ed snapped. “How did you get a hold of Virgil’s phone?”

The girl with goggles crossed her arms. “I was going to give it back after the mission briefing. I didn’t think that I’d have to make a mad escape.”

“Good thing you kept it if you are really running from this ‘Max’” Asami said.

“So,” Tye said, “What is going on with the League and the team?”

“What part of ‘bad guy mind controlling everyone he can and making everyone he can’t get out of the way’ isn’t clear?” Cassie asked thoughtfully.

“Point taken. So, are you here to find Jaime as well?” Ed looked carefully at the two women, judging their reactions.

Cassie smirked. “We actually managed to find him today.”

Tye lunged forward, his voice a few pitches higher. “Is he alright?”

“He’s fine, last I saw him was above 25th and Main,” Karen said. “But could you guys explain how you broke Virgil free from Max’s control that one time?”

Ed furrowed his brow but it was Asami who spoke.

“Tye was yelling about how Virgil abandoned his friend. Virgil argued back. He said he was never told. But Ed and I said that he had promised to look. Then he remembered. Maybe it was because he was upset?”

“I think it was more than that. Like he was confronted by how not like himself he had been acting, and Max’s control couldn’t rationalize it away.  This giant well between what he was feeling and what Max made him feel caused an emotional whiplash that broke Max’s control. We’ll need to test it out,” Karen said, “but that could just work.”

“We can do that later,” Ed said, “is there any way to contact Jaime?”

“Why?” Karen asked, seeming more interested than concerned.

“ Between  _ mi padre _ and my power I know where most all the Zeta chambers are. And there is one really close to 25th and Main,” Ed explained, “he’s a sitting duck for Max there.”

Karen pulled out Virgil’s phone, “where should he go?”

“Anywhere else,” Tye said, with nods of agreement from both Asami and Ed.

But Karen never used the cellphone. Instead the door to the roof burst open.

“How about here?” Red Hood exclaimed, coming out of the door with Jaime trailing behind him in civvies.

“Were you waiting just behind the door the whole time?” Cassie asked.

“It was the only way for him to get his dramatic moment,” Jaime muttered as he walked past. “But Tye! I am so glad to see you!”

“Same here, hermano,” Tye said, opening his arms to hug Jaime. “Why is it that whenever we don’t see each other for a while, you’re fighting a bad guy who controls people?”

Jaime chuckled into Tye’s shoulder. “Because those guys are the worst and most dangerous?”

“Obviously. But you couldn’t let me know you were alive?”

Jaime winced. “Max has the resources of the League, and I couldn’t risk him tracking my call and realizing that taking control of you would be the perfect way to get to me.”

Tye sighed as they broke apart from their hug. “Well, at least I can tell my mom to let your family know that you’re fine.”

“I know you should. But Tye, the same reason I didn’t call you- ”

“But Max doesn’t know about me, right? I could just tell my mom to drop a hint, say that they shouldn’t worry,” Tye said.

Red Hood coughed to get everyone’s attention. “Can’t risk it. As long as Max thinks that they don’t know anything, they’re safe from him. Trust me, Jaime and I had this conversation before.” 

Red Hood then turned back to looking at the horizon. 

Asami looked between everyone, and said, “So, where do we go now?”

“Well, we’re all in Gotham already,” Karen said. 

“But we’re all over town, and if we need to alert each other it might take a while. Also, the only one here who knows Gotham well enough for traveling is the Hood guy here,” Ed said.

“Besides, we’re running out of cash, and credit cards can be traced,” Cassie said, adopting a thinking pose. 

Red Hood rolled his head around. “Fine. You can all stay at my safe house. But you better bring as much as you can, and try to steal some sheets and towels from your motel or hotel or whatever. I’ll lead the girls over from their room, and Jaime can lead spikey hair, long hair, and heterochromia over. Deal?”

Everyone nodded. As they headed over to the door to walk down the steps, Jaime stopped next to Jason, and walked next to him as they followed everyone else down.  

“Red, what are you looking for?”

Jason swiveled towards Jaime. “I told you about the run in I had with three of your teammates yesterday. I’m still not used to seeing that Robin.”

“Oh,” Jaime said, looking at the ground. “Thinking about-”

Red Hood nodded sharply to cut him off. “Yeah. We’ll talk about it later, Blue. You’ve got to go with your friends. Remember to lay low.”

Jaime nodded. “You be careful too; insisting on wearing that mask everywhere is bound to get you spotted.”

Jason grinned beneath his mask. “Hey, remember who trained me.”

“You coming?” Tye said, looking at Jaime.

“Yeah, let’s go,” Jaime said, waving at Jason before following the trio.

Ed lead the way to their temporary living arrangements, Tye and Jaime stayed in the middle of the group, while Asami took the rear. All four of them moved quickly and silently. 

It wasn’t until they started the quick strip packing that had been perfected by their time on the run that anyone broke the silence.

“So, this Red Hood guy… is he your mentor now?” Ed asked.

“No, more like a friend. But that might be a good thing considering my luck with mentors,” Jaime gave a quiet laugh, “Ted’s dead, I haven’t even seen Peacemaker since I started working with the team, and Green Beetle was working with the Reach.”

“Peacemaker?” Tye questioned.

“Big older guy, short blond hair, tattoos.” Jaime listed.

“He the one that drives that near silent motorcycle,” Tye asked, and when Jaime nodded he continued, “Guess I did see him around your dad’s garage. I just thought he was someone else Luis owed money to.”

“No that’s just every other shady character that hangs around the garage,” Jaime said darkly, thinking of all the trouble that that dead-beat employee caused for his dad.

“Fair,” Tye answered with a snort, “and speaking of shady characters, how’d you meet Red Hood.”

“Right after I crashed here I ran across gangsters beating up some teenagers. Hood helped me stop it and I convinced him not to kill them. And when I collapsed, he gave me a place to stay. He helped me recover, and now he’s helping me fight Max.”

“How trustworthy is he?” Asami asked, eyes focused on folding her clothes.

Jaime leaned back. “If there’s one thing I learned about him, it’s that he usually says exactly what’s on his mind. He’s a lot less violent now, but even then, his heart is in the right place. He also really hates criminals that target kids.”

“Then why did he keep the mask on?” Tye kept his voice carefully neutral.

“Because he’s a drama queen who wants to wait for the perfect moment to take it off. Trust me, he tried to make a big deal out of it to me as well.”

“Now we know your type; angry but good hearted people,” Ed said with a small smile.

Jaime rolled his eyes. “If you’re done packing…”

“We are,” Asami said. “We pack light.”

Jaime stood to attention. “Alright! Let’s go. It’s not too far from here, thankfully, but the later it is the worse Gotham gets. Don’t want to accidentally run into the Joker.”

 

* * *

Cassie kept looking over her shoulder as she packed. She wasn’t sure if it was for Red Hood, or for members of the team taking her and Karen in.

“Relax, we’ll be a lot safer than we have been,” Karen said. “Besides, I’ve been wearing my suit at all times, and you have your lasso.”

Cassie bit her bottom lip. “Still, this doesn’t make it feel any safer. There’s just too many ‘what ifs’.”

“Look, I’m all done packing. Are you?” 

Cassie zipped up her bag. “Yeah. I packed less stuff than you, remember? I just can’t wait until I can put on my costume.”

Karen smiled. “Won’t be too long now. We can start making real battle plans, do missions to get what we need, do research to know what we need…”

Cassie grinned. “You really don’t mind leading a stressful life, huh?”

“Rather stressful and doing things than having too much time to relax and want to do things.”

“Well I don’t to wait here forever,” Cassie said, “do you have the number Hood used?”

Karen shrugged, “he’ll be here when he’s done.”

“Done with what?”

“I’m almost 100% sure that he’s following Jaime and the others. It Max did get to them, alone with Jaime is when they would attack.”

Cassie narrowed her eyes, “I thought we agreed they were clean.”

“We did,” Karen answered with a shrug, “But I’m guessing Hood requires more proof.”

“Maybe you should too,” Red Hood cut in, jumping through the window.

Karen turned towards him quickly, “did something happen?”

“Not this time,” Hood growled as he moved into her personal space.

Karen did not back down. She placed her hands on her hips and glared up at him.

“What do you mean?”

“Before today, Blue never told me how he was caught,” Red Hood answered, his voice clipped.

“So?” Karen asked.

“So now I don’t trust you. At all,” he answered, hand balled at his hips, “you led him right to Max. And I can’t figure out if you are working for Max or just incompetent. But either way I can’t trust that you won’t do it again.”

Cassie moved like she was going to argue. But Karen held her hand out. Cassie stopped, but she still glared at Red Hood.

“I won’t,” Karen said firmly, “you know I’d never willing hurt him.”

“But you just left him there,” Red Hood said in a broken whisper. 

Karen took a step back. Her brow furrowed for a second and then she crossed her arms. 

“Are you done?” she asked.

“No,” Red Hood answered, stepping back into her space, “because it wasn’t just him. You left Mal back on the watchtower. For someone who you claim to care about you find a lot of ways to leave him alone.”

“And you,” Karen answered calmly, placing a hand on his shoulder, “were listening in to the entire conversation on the rooftop.”

Red Hood threw up his hands, took two steps back, and the dropped onto the bed.

“You and your emotional stability,” he complained.

“I also knew it was coming,” Karen answered with a shrug, “But I expected from Blue and not you.”

Red Hood tilted his head to the side and Cassie finally relaxed.

“It would pack a bigger punch since he was the one I left,” Karen explained, “You’re just the tagalong.”

Red Hood put his hand over his heart in an exaggerated motion. 

“Oh I’m hurt,” he called dramatically before adding, “but do you really think you wouldn’t have called Blue’s bluff the second he opened his mouth?”

Karen and Cassie caught eachother's eyes. Then Karen shrugged.

“Probably,” she said lifting her bag up, “so where is this safe house of yours, drama queen?”

 

* * *

Red Hood looked over the previously spacious safe house, and the new guests. “And I thought getting Jaime a decent mattress to sleep on would be the worst of my hosting worries. Well, welcome to the Red Hood Motel, everyone. Who wants the bed, and who wants the couch?” 

“What about the mattress?” Cassie asked, pointing to the one laying on the ground.

“Jaime can give it up if he wants, but I’m not forcing him out of it. And please tell me someone has a spare sheet or blanket that we can use to separate the guy’s side from the girl’s side.”

“ _ Ano _ , I am fine without a sheet,” Asami said. At the incredulous looks of Cassie, Karen, and Red Hood, Asami shrugged. “Lived with four boys on streets for weeks.”

Tye shrugged. “Same reason Ed and I could sleep on the floor. Jaime, you should keep the mattress if you’re not completely healed.”

Red Hood groaned. “Look, if we’re gonna argue about who’s gonna take what, we might as well go and steal some furniture from Wayne Manor.”

At everyone’s curious looks, Red Hood said, “Please? I just really want to take some stuff from Wayne Manor.”

“Why do you want to steal from some rich guy?” Ed looked over at Red Hood, carefully evaluating. “Is he as bad as Lex Luthor?”

“No, I just really want to steal from him,” Red Hood said. “Oh come on, it’ll be funny. And that broody jerk deserves it.”

“Seriously, what did he do to you?”

“It’s what he didn’t do.” 

Everyone chilled at the sudden drop in his tone. Then he jumped up and spoke again.

“Now, Tiny Wonder gets the couch, Bee gets to shrink down at night and sleep on a pillow or the edge of the couch, Jaime gets the mattress, and Asami gets the bed. Got it?”

“I can sleep on the ground too,” Asami said.

“I bet, but I don’t want you and your boyfriend to keep everyone up at night, and I feel like going for a patrol tonight to make sure nobody followed us here. I’ll see if I can pick up a cot or another mattress while I’m at it. Deal?”

“Uh, sure,” Ed said.

“Good. You guys settle in, see you in a few,” Red Hood said, leaving through the door.  

 

* * *

When Karen woke up the next morning the safe house was quiet. Everyone was still sprawled where they had fallen asleep with the exception of Red Hood. She wasn’t sure when he got back or if he had even fallen asleep at all. He was sitting quietly, red helmet still on, and reading through her journal on Max’s actions over the past month.

She walked past him, giving a small nod, and searching the kitchen area for something edible or resembling coffee.  Finding that a pot was already filled with the holy caffeinated drink that all college students worship and that a pot of oatmeal was cooking on the stove, Karen decided to look at the mysterious Red Hood.

He had only been publicly on the scene for a bit over a month, but his habits were that of a well trained and seasoned vigilante. He was reading her journal with care, seeming to drink the information in. He also had a fancy pillow with an embroidered ‘W’ on the kitchen counter.

Karen rolled her eyes; she couldn’t really lecture him if that was all he stole. Besides, this was his place.

Karen glanced over at the main room, and saw Cassie waking up. 

“Hey Karen, Hood guy, what’s up?”

“You are, apparently,” Karen said as Cassie stretched. “I’d get to the shower now, if I were you.”

Cassie nodded, and accidentally tripped over Ed while heading to said shower. 

“Sorry,” she whispered as Ed groaned.

Ed lazily batted at her. 

“It’s fine,” he mumbled, sitting up. “Is there coffee?”

“Go ahead, mugs are in the cabinet next to the door, and if you take it with cream and sugar the sugar is on the table, creamer in the fridge,” Red Hood said, not even looking away from the book.

Ed scoffed. “I take it black when I have it.” 

At Ed’s voice, Tye and Asami jerked up. 

“ _ Oohayou gozaimasu _ ,” Asami said cheerfully, waving at everyone.

Tye blearily rubbed his eyes and mumbled, ‘Morning,’ and stumbled his way over to the kitchen counter.

“Is there tea?” Asami asked, looking around.

“Tea stuff in cabinet two over from the door,” Red Hood said. “Knock yourself out.”

Tye searched the room for Jaime, finding him jerking out of sleep. Tye grimaced at the sight of an action he came to associate with himself, Ed, Asami, and Virgil more than Jaime- but kept quiet. He went to help the others set up the table for breakfast, and by the time Cassie was done with her shower, they were ready to eat.

It was Cassie who, between spoonfuls of oatmeal, broke the easy morning routine with shop talk.

“Jaime, please tell me that your scarab knows how to stop Max.”

“It does -” Jaime said, and then spoke over Cassie’s excited laugh, “but, like most things, it involves evisceration ”

“I don’t necessarily see the problem with that...” She said.

“See,” Jason laughed, “that’s what I’ve been saying.”

Jaime was grinning when leaned forward and put his head in his hands, but he didn’t reply. Instead Karen directed another question at him.

“What about just an inhibitor collar?”

He sat up straight, waiting a moment in silence before replying, “That wouldn’t restore memories...”

“But we can do that,” Asami pointed out, “as long as he can’t keep controlling them.”

Jaime nodded, “It could stop him from taking any more control.”

Tye pushed his food back, glaring at the ceiling while speaking, “That’s great, but where exactly would we get one? It’s not like they sell them at Walmart.” 

Jason shrugged, “we can always steal one.”

“We can’t just steal one and expect it to work for Max,” Karen said, running her hand through her hair, “each has to be finely tuned to the power that it is suppressing or it won’t work.” 

Jaime threw his hands up when both Cassie and Jason turned towards him.

“ Don’t look at me. You want to fry one, sure the scarab can do that-” he said with a laugh, “but fine tune it?  _ No sé. _ ”

“Hold on. I never said I couldn’t do it.” Karen frowned, “Because I could. It’s just going to take time. A lot of time. Time which we might not have, especially if the Justice League investigates the robbery.”

The table fell silent again, until Cassie threw her hands up and declared, “too bad we couldn’t just steal one from like the Light, it’s not like they could complain to the League about it.”

“Well now that you mention it,” Red Hood answered lightly, “I’m sure LexCorp has a spare one lying around somewhere.”

“LexCorp you say,” Ed laughed, “I know someone who would just love to get involved in that.” 

Karen hit the table with both hands, “Ab-so-lutely not.”

“Hey!” All three of the former Runaways protested.

“Ok, putting aside the two times he went off mission and almost got the entire team killed,” Karen said, raising two fingers as she made her point, “He has never been subtle, and in case you haven’t noticed we have the entire Justice League against us. This has to be a stealth mission, it’s the only advantage that we have.”

“That could actually work in our favor though,” Cassie pointed out softly deflating the tension in the room, “I mean we split into two teams. One- full of everyone Max knows is against him- just causes general havoc or whatever while a second stealth team gets in and gets exactly what we need. They’ll never know what we took and just think that we’re getting desperate.” 

“I like her style.” Red Hood declared when she finished.

“So does the scarab,” Jaime admitted fondly, “Honestly I think you both just want to blow stuff up.”

Cassie shrugged. “Team tradition.”

“So then, we do pull in Arsenal?” Ed clarified.

Karen shrugged, “Well no one would question him randomly blowing up something of Luthor’s.”

“So,” Tye said pointing to himself, Asami, and Ed, “us and Arsenal go on a path of random destruction while the rest of you try your hand at breaking and entering?” 

Jaime shook his head firmly, “No way.” 

Tye began to protest but Karen cut him off, “Jaime’s right. One of the only things that we have going for us right now is that we’ve still got people that can stay under the radar.” 

“Yeah,” Cassie agreed, “But we could do a distraction without revealing anyone. Max already knows that Jaime is against him, and Robin has been investigating Red Hood for a while now - no offence. And I’m pretty sure I’m also on that list, based on my stunt in the Watchtower.”

“So we just grab this Arsenal guy and that makes four.” Jason nodded before looking at Karen, “Pom-poms, think you can keep the three stooges in line?”

She hesitated before responding, because no one had called her that in years, not since...

“We’ll be fine.” 

 

 


	11. Chaos at Lex Corp

Lisa Einhardt was a good, hard-working woman. She went through college to get her MBA, and now she was starting at the bottom rung of HR at Lex Corp. However, with a bit more luck and hard work, she knew she could work her way up the corporate ladder.

Which is why when three superheroes came through her door, she sat straight up and kept her eyes forward, but had the most pleasant smile she could plaster on.

“Hello, and welcome to Lex Corp’s research facility. How may I help you?”

“We’re looking for Luthor,” the guy with the red hooded helmet said. “Can you get us a meeting with him?”

Ignoring thoughts of ‘oh god didn’t this guy kill people, wait he killed criminals’, she nodded, and said, “Well, I don’t know if he’s available, but I’ll put a call upstairs.”

“Thank you,” Blue Beetle said.

Lisa smiled; manners were so underrated, and if she arranged a meeting between superheroes and the CEO himself, surely she could get a higher up job within a month.

Lisa dialed the number for the highest official she could, and said, “Hello, there are three superheroes here, and they want a meeting with Mr. Luthor.”

She was patiently waiting for the man to finish when there was an explosion. Next thing she knew, she was behind a metallic blue shield. Once she had assured Blue Beetle that she was not injured, the three superheroes left to find the source of the noise, leaving her to explain what was happening to the official on the phone.

* * *

 

“Thank the gods for Arsenal,” Cassie muttered as she flew next to Blue Beetle who was carrying Red Hood.

Red Hood laughed. “Just stick to the plan, Tiny Wonder. You see him?”

“Yeah,” Cassie said.

With that Cassie shot forward intercepting Arsenal’s next shot with her bracelets, angling the laser into the ceiling and sending a huge plume of debris showing down.

“Damn,” Jason complained with a slight pout, “what I wouldn’t give to be actually helping wreck this place.”

Jaime’s eyes flashed yellow for a second then Jaime pointed to a wall, “there’s five people behind there, I’ll get the people on the floor above.”

Jason didn’t waste another second watching Jaime fly through the ceiling. He ran towards the wall that Blue Beetle had pointed out. He shouted for everyone to back up before he kicked his way through the wall.

He could tell by the way that they pulled back from the hole that they recognized him from his work in Gotham. He sighed and held out his hand, smiling reassuringly even if they couldn’t see it due to his helmet.

“Come on,” he said calmly, with a tone well practiced from his Robin days, “let’s get you out of here.”

There was only a slight pause before the man closest to him took that hand.

* * *

 

Karen braced herself against the shuddering of the building. And while she was glad that their distraction was going off well, she did wish that it wasn’t going off directly above their heads. The rubble raining down was definitely making their job more difficult.

They- her, Tye, Ed, and Asami- had snuck in when Arsenal set off his first explosion and were currently several floors below where Karen assumed the fighting was going on. And based on the labs that their group had encountered they were getting close.

“Well, that’s unfortunate,” Tye complained.

He stood in front of a section of collapsed ceiling that completely cut off the path that they were taking. Asami raised her hands and began to focus on her power but Karen landed on her shoulder.  

“I’ll go through first,” she said, “and make sure we don’t destroy the tech we’re trying to steal.”

Asami nodded and Karen flew forward. At her shrunken size it was a straight shot through the rubble. She just had to maneuver around a piece of plaster before she arrived in a small relatively undamaged room.

Karen grew and looked around. There sitting on a lab bench in the corner was exactly what they were looking for, an inhibitor collar. As an added bonus it was surrounded by the tools that Luthor’s scientists were using to work on it. In a single swift motion she swept all of the tools together before placing them and the inhibitor collar into a small toolbox.

She carefully picked it up and went back to the rubble pile that cut her off from the rest of the group. Tearing down the lone piece of plaster that blocked her path she looked through the hole as she called.

“I found it, but I’m gonna need some help getting it out.”

Ed’s eye appeared on the other side.

“Back up,” he called.

Karen obeyed, and braced herself for Asami’s blast. Instead there was a flash of light and Ed appeared next to her.

Ed smirked and Karen put the toolbox in his outstretched hand. With that he turned back towards the rubble and disappeared in a flash of yellow light. Karen shrunk and flew out the same way that she had got in.

Once Karen was reunited with the group, Asami turned to Karen and asked, “that everything?”

Karen nodded, and let Asami lead the team back down the corridors that they had come through. Asami stopped before reaching their entrance.

“This is an outside wall,” she said, inclining her head, “shortcut?”

Karen nodded again. Tye grew as large as he was able, crouching over the rest of the team.

Asami blasted the wall, bringing down debris everywhere that Tye was not protecting. And with the wall down it was simple enough for the all of them to run off into the night.

Once they were back at the safe house, Karen called Virgil’s cell phone, letting it ring once. That was their signal to Cassie that all had gone according to plan. Now they could only wait for the rest of their group to show up.

* * *

 

Max filled out the required forms, looked at his plans, and sighed. Being a businessman was a hard enough job, but controlling a satellite worth of heroes on top of it made for a lot of work.

Well, his plan was coming to fruition. Soon, everything would be much easier and better. Max Lord was going to make the world a better place.

The drifting of words from the television pricked him out of his thoughts, and he went to pay attention to what was previously background noise.

“-This is Cat Grant, reporting live outside of Lex Corp’s research facility, where Wonder Girl is fighting Arsenal to prevent him from destroying the building. Nobody knows why the vigilante is doing this. However, thanks to the efforts of Blue Beetle and Red Hood, there have been no injuries or casualties.”

Max squeezed the pen in his hand. It seemed that Robin was not as good of a detective as he claimed to be. Worse than that, Wonder Girl was alive and had joined up with them.

Seeing the images of the fight, Max stood up and called a few heroes in.

This rebellion could not continue.

* * *

 

Arsenal couldn’t help but smile as he flipped through the air. When Ed called him, he had of course been happy to help, but he didn’t expect what he needed to do to be this good. Pissing off the team, even if they were under mind control was good, fake fighting the pretty girl who kissed him once, even if she was dating Robin now, was even better. And doing it all while destroying as much as Luthor’s property to cover up a theft from Lex. Well that was just icing on the cake.

He and Cassie had their dance down. He would fire a laser and she would deflect it with her bracelets, splaying the damage across the building. As it recharged, she would rush in for an attack and he’d twist out of the way. Her momentum would disguise the fact that the column behind him was always her true target.

The only unknowns that he was displeased with was the two others that she was working with, Red Hood and Blue Beetle. Red at least stayed out of their way when on civilian duty. But Blue, he would speed by their fight missing Arsenal’s back by inches. And even knowing that Beetle was just grabbing civilians, he still had to force back the feeling that he was about to get attacked from behind.

Arsenal’s arm beeped, and he twisted firing the laser. Cassie blocked as she always did, but her followup attack was cut short by a single staccato tone coming from her pants.  

They both had agreed on that cue. And when she looked down feigning distraction, Arsenal grabbed a smoke grenade from his belt.

“Not too shabby for one night’s work,” he called with a laugh, flinging the grenade.

Cassie’s reaction was stilted, her shock at the words and damage were a little slow to come forward. Still her act should be good enough to fool any observers, and she didn’t have to hold it long before red smoke filled the room and obscured her face from view.

Arsenal ran into the night. He took the more direct route back to the safe house. It made sense, he was playing the villain in their little encounter, so he was the one the the more extreme clock pressures. Lex’s goons catching him would definitely put a damper on his night.

A half knock and he was inside of Red’s safe house. Karen had already started working on the inhibitor collar, and she didn’t acknowledge Roy when he came in. Not that he really expected her too, and besides the happy greeting from Ed and Asami more than made up for it.

Tye did wave at him. His greeting was not mad or anything, he just kept a close watch on the door to the safehouse. And with each passing second his scowl deepened.

“It’s been too long,” he declared, “I’m going back for them.”

Arsenal checked his arm, and both Ed and Asami stretched. Karen also stood, but she did not put on her cowl. Instead she grabbed Tye’s arm.

“For now, we need to stay here.”

Tye pulled away, “but what if he’s been captured, again?”

“That would be bad,” Karen admitted, “but you know what would be worse? If there is no one left who remembers to look for them.”

Arsenal looked at Karen and sat down, Tye did the same. The only sound that could be heard in the safehouse was the ticking of the clock.

* * *

 

Jason looked up at Cassie’s and Arsenal’s fight breaking apart and said, “Blue, if we’re finished here, let’s go!”

“Right, just patching this part up so it doesn’t crash into anyone,” Jaime said, firing a few staples.

He had just fired the last one when a yellow blur smashed into him. The surprise impact knocked Jaime back a foot. He turned to see the blur slow and could momentarily make out that it was Kid Flash.

“Letmyfriendgo!” Bart shouted during his brief pause before picking up speed again.

“Bart? What do you- wait, you can’t believe anything Max says,” Jaime said, flying into the air.

“This has nothing to do with Max,” Superboy said, flying down in the supercycle with Wolf and Beastboy at his side. “ We know you’re on mode again, and we will free our friend.”

“O...kay,” Jaime said, looking at the group, “Don’t suppose I could convince you guys that I’m not on mode.”

“We know how good you are at acting,” Bart said, glaring.

Glancing at Jason beside him and Cassie running over, Jaime jerked his head to indicate that the current plan was to run, and then started to fly away.

Unfortunately mind control didn’t mean that his friends forgot how Jaime signaled or ran. Which meant that as Jaime began to fly he was pounced on by an angry Kryptonian who understood exactly what he was planning on doing.

They tumbled to the ground together. Quickly, Jaime whipped up a shield to deflect the fist aimed at his head. This left his stomach exposed, and Superboy took advantage of the opening. Superboy never made contact though, as a lasso ensnared his arm.

“He’s not on mode, you guys are!” Cassie said. “Max is messing with your brain like Cadmus did!”

“Reach Infiltrators can act just like their host until the command comes! He has you tricked, Wonder Girl!” Superboy yanked on the lasso, pulling Cassie in, but she changed tactics and headed right at him with a punch.

“Blue, I’ve got Supey! You see if you can free Bart! Hood, take Beastboy and Wolf!” Cassie yelled.

“Great, give me the two who I can’t use any of my guns on,” Jason complained.

He then threw a bola at Gar, who jumped and turned into a bird as Wolf scampered up to Jason with a dogged grin.

Jaime nodded, and as Bart came in to attack him, Jaime locked onto his movements and stapled Bart to the wall.

“Listen _hermano_ , if you vibrate out, you might destabilize the place. So let me talk, _comprendé_?”

Bart disdainfully nodded, an old hate coming out from his glare.

“Look, it’s me, it’s me” he said allowing the armor to pull back from his head, “I’m not on mode. When you, Zatanna, Rocket, and Batgirl saved me with that ritual- the scarab told me he preferred our partnership to being slaves of the Reach. Think about it _hermano_ , even if you still don’t trust the scarab, at least trust its logic. The risk is astronomical the reward, non-existent, for taking me over. Please believe me, I can’t stand to be forced to fight anymore.”

Jaime let his words sink in, and searched Bart’s face for the slightest hint of realization. Milliseconds crept by before Bart’s face suddenly broke into a grin.

“Of course I believe you, her-man-o! Now, let me out and I can tell Superboy, Wolf, and Beastboy the truth.”

Jaime sighed in relief. He let his armor to return and began prying the staple off.

“This is perfect.” He started when Bart whizzed off, and quickly came back with a strange device in hand. “We can start freeing the-”

_[Not compatible! Reducing feedback to host]_

Jaime fell over, his whole body felt numb. He was glad that the scarab had finally figured out how to prevent pain from non compatible technology. But that feeling was quickly drowned out by the terror of being unable to move again.

“Nonononono-” he whispered to himself, horrible memories overcoming him.

And then Bart was down next to him, looking into his eyes. Jaime saw the deep determination and anger he had only seen once before, when Bart was helping him off the Reach ship.

“You are not fooling me, not again. I will get Jaime back and stop that future,” Bart said, holding the device up.

Meanwhile, Jason was fighting Beast Boy and Wolf. He dodged Beast Boy’s shifting from a gorilla, and grabbed Beast Boy as a falcon only to have him turn into an elephant.

“Oh come on, I really don’t want to hurt you,” Red Hood said.

He barely dodged some of Beast Boy’s attacks, and then fell over as Wolf tackled him to the ground. But Wolf did not attack, instead he started licking Jason’s helmet.

“Love you too, big guy,” Jason said, scratching behind Wolf’s ears.

“Wolf! You’re supposed to be taking the bad guy down, not playing with him,” Beast Boy yelled.

Wolf just shot Beast Boy the most unimpressed look a wolf could manage, jumped up, and started pawing at Jason and wagging his tail.

Jason returned the favor, throwing his arm around Wolf’s shoulders pulling him into a hug. With his free hand Jason pointed at Beast Boy and made sure that Wolf saw.

“Give Green Butt some love.”

Wolf never forgot a trick, and bounded over to Beast Boy, planting his paws on the kid’s face and showing him with licks. Even as Garfield shifted, Wolf continued to lick him.

Garfield abandoned his shifting, pushing back an unassuaged Wolf before shouting without malice, “you traitor.”  

While Gar was occupied with a happy Wolf, Jason did a quick survey of the battlefield. Cassie was clashing with Conner, and the new Kid Flash was… standing over a motionless Blue Beetle.

“Tiny Wonder, Blue’s down! I think they have Apokoliptian technology!” Red Hood called out, racing over to Jaime.

Cassie cursed as she dodged another punch from Conner.

“Sphere, jam all Apokoliptian signals in the area!” she called out, praying that it would work.

A soothing high frequency noise washed over the area as Sphere followed the request. The frequency caused feedback in the Apokoliptian Box, making Bart drop it as it sparked in his hand.

Cassie let out a sigh of relief as she dodged another of Conner’s punches.

“Superboy, if we were the bad guys, why are you using Apokoliptian tech!” she shouted, before flying up and trying to head towards Jaime.

“Because it’s the only way to save Blue,” Conner roared. “Why don’t you see what’s going on?”

“Why don’t you?” Cassie said, using her lasso to tie up Conner.

“You idiot,” Red Hood shouted as he made his way towards Kid Flash, “Don’t you know how much pain that tech causes Jaime?”

“Less than being trapped in his body would,” Bart shouted back, dodging the throwing knives with ease.

“Guys, save the drama! We need to jet,” Cassie shouted.

Blue Beetle stood up, stopping for a second to scoop up the discarded Apokoliptian Tech at the scarab’s request. He then looked towards the fight and flew over to pick up Jason. Cassie held Conner until they were out of range of his jumps. She then retrieved her lasso with a firm tug and sped off after them into the night.

“Head for the Wayne Enterprises building; you guys can get into civvies there, and I can show you how to get out without anyone noticing,” Red Hood said.

“What is with your obsession with Mr. Wayne?” Cassie commented. “But, uh, that sounds good. As long as we don’t steal anything.”

* * *

 

Jaime sat on his mattress, staring down at the stolen box in his hands. It was the first time that he really got to look at it since getting back to the safehouse.

Tye hadn’t left his side after he, Cassie, and Jason returned. And the play by play of each groups encounter was a good distraction. But now Tye was asleep, the safe house was quiet and dark, and Jaime was left alone in his thoughts.

And he was so caught up in tracing the metal plating of the Apokoliptian box that he barely noticed when the weight shifted as someone sat down next to him.

“Jaime, have you had combat training?” Jason said, staring forward.

“Uh, yeah, with the team,” Jaime said, trying to read Jason’s face.

Jason nodded slowly. “So all your hand to hand combat comes from Black Canary and Superboy. If you’ve been on the team for about a year, you should be decent.”

Jaime gave a coated grin. “Yeah, I managed to sneak in with the rest of the team and pretend to be a ninja for an undercover op.”

“So why don’t you use those fighting moves when armored up?”

Jaime’s grin fell. “How? I’m usually flying, or using a sonic cannon, or a blade.”

“So really, your only strategy is to get shot at until they give up, or use underpowered sonic blasts,” Jason said.

“Well, my armor is nigh impenetrable. Besides, I can let the scarab take over for me if it gets really bad.”

“Yeah, _nigh_ impenetrable. And while your scarab is probably an excellent fighter in your suit, you should be one too,” Jason sighed, “Look, I can’t help you with flying, but I can teach you what I know about fighting with a gun or a sword in hand. And don’t be afraid to actually use your hand-to-hand training while in your bug-suit. Let me help you develop a fighting style of your own, since just relying on your powers will weaken you.”

Jaime chuckled.

“What?”

“Nothing, hermano, I just remembered something Ed asked when he arrived in Gotham.”

Jason leaned back. “What was it?”

“He asked if you were my mentor. I guess now you are.”

* * *

 

“Look at that- two members of the so called ‘Young Justice’ team, fighting and causing havoc, destroying the property of a humanitarian while endangering civilians- is that justice?” G.Gordan asked, glaring into the camera while images of the fight played behind him.

“No it is not. What it is, is two teenagers playing a game with innocent lives. The _League_ obviously thinks they are above all rules, and are teaching their proteges the same.”

The images behind him changed to grainy surveillance footage of the fight between the team, Wonder Girl, Red Hood, and Blue Beetle.

“Then they have the audacity to send more of their so called ‘heroes’ to go and capture everyone fighting, including the two people who were actually doing something to help!”

The fight stopped playing and now an image of Blue Beetle and Red Hood protecting civilians was shown in its place.

“I think I speak for all of us when I say that the fact that a former Reach sympathizer and a murderer are more trustworthy and helpful than the so-called guardians of the planet indicative of who’s really on our side,” G. Gordan finished, letting his words sink in as the screen cut to commercial break.

* * *

 

Lex Luthor looked at the security footage, making a mental note to promote the secretary for not panicking. Then he pulled out his phone, and called Vandal Savage.

“Was there any plans of the Light that involved having a staged fight right outside my research facility? No? Is there any known reason as to why the League would have two of its members team up with outside heroes, have a fight with another group of League-affiliated heroes, all so that a fourth group of unaffiliated heroes could be led by a team member to steal an inhibitor collar?”

Lex waited in his chair for the response. After listening, he said, “You mean that nobody has any idea? Hmmm? No, I can handle it. Thank you.”

Lex then turned to Mercy. “It seems that there may be a major player, probably a super villain, that is working against the League that none of my colleagues know anything about. How- refreshing.”


	12. Making Plans

Ed walked through the center of Gotham, which managed to be almost as intimidating midday as it was in the middle of the night. He was trying to be aware of his surrounding and cautious without looking like he was up to anything, which was way harder than it sounded.

He was traveling alone to pick up groceries. Groceries because eight people in the same apartment ate a lot, and alone because he was the only one left that wasn’t suspicious. Already in his trip he had caught sight of Superman overhead, and a green rat that could only be Beastboy. 

And obviously Red Hood, Wonder Girl, and Blue Beetle could not afford to be seen. In addition Bumblebee believed that by now everyone would know that she was with Wonder Girl when she made her escape from the watchtower, and Virgil at least would pick up easily on Jaime’s best friend and best friend’s girlfriend hanging around where Jaime was last seen.

Arsenal had made a supply run of his own, but had almost instantly run into Green Arrow and Black Canary. And they didn’t want to risk another confrontation or him being followed. 

Ed at least didn’t have to walk through the safe house's front door. The group had left a carefully avoided blind not pulled, so he could teleport in from a fairly good distance away. Not that Ed minded being on grocery duty at all, since eight people in that one apartment got very cramped very fast. 

Ed heard the footsteps before he saw them, and fought back the instinct to teleport away.

“ Super  _ Niño,  _ Virgil, what brings you here?” Ed said, covering his nerves with a smile.

“Dude, costume remember?” Virgil replied quickly. “Anyway, what are you doing in Gotham?”

“Looking up potential colleges; my father wants me to get a headstart,” Ed said smoothly.

“Picked a good time for it,” Conner muttered. Louder, he said, “You did see the news, right?”

“Uh, yeah; what was Arsenal doing, anyway?” Ed looked over at Conner, hoping that Virgil’s mind being messed with made it easier to lie to him.

“Grudge against Luthor, remember? Anyway, be on the lookout; Blue Beetle’s on mode again, and he’s teamed up with Wonder Girl and Red Hood, has them convinced he’s good. Call us if you hear anything, okay?” Virgil said, smiling and looking at Ed.

“Can’t believe Nightwing thought that Beetle wasn’t teaming up with Red Hood, but given last night, it’s pretty obvious,” Conner added.

“Uh, how? Tye, Sam, and I tried to call you a few times, but you never picked up,” Ed said.

Virgil frowned. “Right, I lost my cell. Uh, C-man?”

Conner rolled his eyes, and took out an earpiece with a connected radio. “Here; it’s what we use for radio, and if you press the button and dial ‘B26’, it should lead directly to Virgil’s earpiece. If you have a tip, tell us. Oh, and good luck in your college search.”

They walked their separate ways, and Ed went to the store, buying all the food in bulk except for some specially requested items. When he came back to the safehouse and everyone was delving into the food, he said, “Guys, they’re only looking for Cassie, Jaime, Roy, and Red Hood.”

“How do you know that?” Red Hood said, giving the impression of staring with his mask. 

Ed grinned. “Ran into Virgil and Conner, they even gave me a way to contact them. Used the excuse of looking at colleges for why I’m here.”

“So I can walk around now?” Karen said, smiling. “Man, it will feel good to walk around when I’m done with this collar.”

“Ed, you are the best!” Tye said, giving him a high five. 

“You even remembered the butterscotch krimpets,” Red Hood said as he held up the snack. “So, if you have a way to give them leads, you can give them false leads. Say you ran into Arsenal on the opposite side of town, saw Jaime over on the other side of the bridge, that sort of stuff.”

“Any other news?” Jaime asked softly.

“ Super  _ niño _ mentioned something about Nightwing telling them that you weren’t hooked up with Hood guy here, but after last night that thought is pretty much gone,” Ed said.

Karen slapped her forehead with one hand. “I can’t believe we forgot Nightwing! Do you guys think he knows what’s going on with the League and team?”

“Why wouldn’t he?” Tye asked.

“ Nightwing left the team,  _ hermano,  _ two weeks after the first Kid Flash died,” Jaime responded.

“If I remember correctly, Blüdhaven isn’t that far from here. Anyone know where Nightwing lives?” Cassie asked hopefully.

Red Hood crossed his arms. “We just need his secret identity, then we can look him up.”

Tye shrugged. “That’s easy. Just ask someone who was on the team with him, and we have several team members here.”

All people who were on the team for any amount of time shuffled uncomfortably.

“No-one?” Tye asked, looking at all of them.

“He trained under Batman, and he’s not as ready to give up his secret identity as Batgirl,” Cassie said.

“Jaime, why don’t you see if you scarab could figure it out? It is a really advanced AI, right?” Red Hood said.

“Uh… okay? I’ll ask,” Jaime said. “Could you..?”

_ [Affirmative. The Red Hood has provided his name, therefore through it the list of possible names for the Nightwing can be narrowed down. It may take some time.] _

Red Hood leaned over and whispered to Jaime, “It’s Richard Grayson.”

“Richard Grayson?” Jaime asked, looking over at everyone. “Um, Richard Grayson.”

 

* * *

“I’ve been looking through your earlier reports,” Max said pacing around Robin, who was standing with his head down, “and I believe you said that Blue Beetle was no longer in Gotham?”

Robin didn’t flinch at the question, but both Garfield and Conner who were listening in from across the room did.

“I got that information from Nightwing,” Robin answered softly, “I believed it to be good.”

“ Nightwing? Weren’t you the lead on this case? It  _ was _ your responsibility, but now I see that you are just going to shrug it off onto people no longer affiliated with the League.”

Robin kept his eyes planted firmly on the ground, “Sorry Sir.”

“Sorry isn’t good enough,” Max responded harshly, “We lost valuable time looking for him elsewhere. Time he used to find new allies. Time the scarab used to cement control. If we lose him it will be your fault.”

Max continued to berate Robin who continued to stand and take it. The same could not be said for one of the eavesdroppers across the room.

Garfield’s eyes narrowed and he moved forward. He hadn’t even taken a full step when Conner’s hand grabbed his shoulder.

“Hold back, it is not our place to get involved.”

Gar rounded back towards Conner even as he was pulled out of the room.

“It’s not fair,” he said as Conner began forcing him down the hallway.

“No, it’s just hard to watch because Robin doesn’t usually answer to anyone other than Batman,” Conner said in a calm tone, “but still Max is right. This delay could have serious consequences in getting Beetle back. I mean he has already managed to fool Wonder Girl, and who knows who else.”

Gar pouted, “Still, it feels weird coming from the PR guy.”

“Remember Batman has cleared him, and besides one of our members going rogue is a PR problem,” Conner shrugged, “Besides what’s weirder is how Wolf fought yesterday.”

“Hey I didn’t do anything,” Gar defended himself, “Wolf just would not take the fight seriously.”

“That’s not like him.”

“I know,” Gar threw up his hands, “I mean maybe it’s that Red Hood guy. Do we know his abilities other than killing people? Maybe he’s like an animal empath or something.”

“Or something,” Conner replied. 

“Oh come on, if he was an empath that would explain why Wonder Girl joined them. She could have gone after Blue and then, ‘Boom’!” Garfield made a large gesture with his hands, “Mind control.”

Conner rolled his eyes, “Wonder Girl can’t be mind controlled by anything short of the Starro tech that they used on the Justice League six years ago. Something about the wisdom of the Gods.”

“Oh, noted,” Gar said, shrinking back. “But still, Hood guy could have super powers!”

Conner grinned. “I doubt it, but it’s good that you’re keeping an open mind and thinking things through.”

 

* * *

“Jaime, what are you doing?” Tye asked, snatching the stolen Apokoliptian box out of his friend’s hand.

Jaime was laying on the couch un-armored except for his left hand, which he had been repeatedly hitting with a beam from the box. The way that his hand would jerk and the armor bubble after each hit was what caused Tye to take the box in the first place.

“Scarab’s idea,” Jaime replied making a failed attempt to get it back, “We should be able to adapt to it, if we keep this up.”

“But doesn’t it hurt?” 

“Tye,” Jaime’s face softened, and he pulled the armor away from his unblemished hand, “I swear we already solved the feedback issue. Now it’s just getting the armor to work while under this influence.” 

Tye looked at Jaime skeptically. And Jaime responded by sitting up and looking Tye in the eye before speaking again.

“ This tech is how he caught me, It’s how he held me and got information about the Scarab. If, if the Scarab’s programing or design is used to hurt people,  _ hermano,  _ that’s on me.”

Tye grabbed Jaime’s shoulder and squeezed, “No, that’s on Max.”

Tye didn’t give Jaime a chance to argue back, before handing the box back. And while Jaime was still looking at the box in his hand, Tye whispered.

“Just stay safe ok?” 

 

* * *

Karen had been working on the inhibitor collar for the better part of the week. Occasionally she would ask Jaime to scan something that her stolen tools couldn’t, but for the most part she worked on her own. Which left the rest of the team plenty of time to go over their plan, again and again.

“So, is this list of potential allies good?” Cassie said, looking at the paper.

“Those are the ones we could get to in a reasonable amount of time, and would definitely be convincible,” Karen commented, finally pulling her eyes off her work.

“So, Red Hood, Jaime, and Tye to Nightwing,” Cassie said, making a note next to the name. “Girls to Themyscira for Troia, and Arsenal is going with Ed to get Red Arrow.”

“Since Blüdhaven isn’t that far from here, especially compared to Star City and Themyscira, we’ll go to Fawcett after talking to Nightwing,” Jaime added.

Cassie nodded, and noted that down. “Karen, how long until you’re done with the inhibitor collar?”

Karen smirked, putting the collar down on the counter. “Negative ten seconds, give or take.”

Cassie grinned wide, “That’s great, now we can really get moving.”

“Actually, before we head out, let me make a call,” Ed said grinning and tapping an earpiece, “the question is now, Jaime, where are you going to?” 

Jaime blinked before responding to Ed, “Oh, I’ve got an idea. But it’s not a ‘where’, it’s a ‘who’.”

 

* * *

Bart swung his legs and looked at his feet. This was so moded. He had just spent the last ten minutes being yelled at on national TV by the crackpot known as G. Gordon Godfrey. The yelling itself wasn’t too bad, Bart wasn’t about to let something he said affect him. Knowing that each time he couldn’t counter a point that people would believe G. Godfrey a little more, and team would get hurt was way worse.

But by far the most mode-ing part was that he had to spend ten minutes doing this instead of being out and actively searching for Blue. But still Max was right, they’d be much more likely to find Blue if people were alerted to what was going on, and thus less likely to believe his lies. 

Which was why he was waiting outside of G. Godfrey’s dressing room while Max went in and talked to him instead of rushing off. Hopefully Max could do something to salvage the dreadful interview.

Bart looked up when the door opened and saw Max walking out, handkerchief dabbing at a slightly bloody nose.

He put a hand on Bart’s shoulder, “Come on kiddo, we’re done here.”

“Right,” Bart god to his feet slowly, “No second chances I guess.”

Max shook his head, “You did fine kid, you got your story out there, and anyone watching who is strong or skilled enough to help us against Blue Beetle knows to listen around G. Gordon’s rants.”

“And the rest of the population, won’t they still hide him from us?”

“Perhaps,” Max shrugged, “But it might be for the best that civilians still trust him. I mean can you imagine how Jaime would feel if when he gets back in control of himself he finds out he killed civilians because they turned on him.”

Bart pressed his mouth into a thin line, and whispered mostly to himself, “we will stop him before it gets to that.”

But Max still heard him.

“Yes we will,” He said, nose beginning to bleed again, “and I have a job for you that will help us do just that.”

 

 


	13. Calling All Superfriends

Jaime walked down the darkened streets of Blüdhaven. He was hunched against the cold, hands in his pockets and the hood of his sweatshirt pulled over his head obscuring his face.

Even knowing that Tye was just one street to the right and that Red Hood was following him over the rooftops, didn’t make this seem any less scary. Jaime would feel far more comfortable if they could be closer, but if Nightwing was compromised none of them wanted to risk revealing the totality of their plan and allies to Max.

Jaime made his way to an unassuming apartment complex. He went up a couple of floors and stopped outside the door of an apartment that records indicated belonged to a Richard J. Grayson.

He kept his head down, keeping his face concealed, and counted to twenty. He hoped to give both Tye and Jason a chance to get into position in case things went bad. When the count was up he gave three sharp knocks and took a step back from the door.

The seconds seemed to drag on while he stood in the hallway. And Jaime was about to knock again when the door opened.

_[Primary biometrics are consistent.]_

Jaime looked up and met the man’s eyes, “Nightwing we need to talk.”

“Jaime?” Nightwing said, brows scrunching, “Come in, and tell me what is going on with the team.”

“What do you know?” Jaime said as he entered the apartment.

“That Robin called me, asked me about you teaming up with Red Hood, and told me to tell everyone that the photo with you two together was old and that you weren’t seen around each other. Nice work, by the way.” Nightwing walked over to a table with scattered articles and scientific papers, sitting down in a chair with a coat slung over the back.

“Nice work? With what?” Jaime said, taking a seat opposite Nightwing.

Nightwing gave a sweet grin, contrasting with the new lines on his face. “Most superheroes dream of being able to convince someone they fight a lot to give up a life of crime; Batman’s been trying to get Harley Quinn all the help she needs to leave the Joker for a while. But you just hang out with Red Hood for a few weeks, and he becomes a hero. Nice job.”

“Uh, thanks,” Jaime said, drumming his fingers on the table.

A quick glance at the articles showed that some were on research into alternate universes and planes of existence, and others were on teleportation or potentially odd sightings.

Nightwing took a breath, then transformed his face into that of the leader who handled tough decisions and complaints with a no-nonsense attitude.

“Jaime, what is happening with the League and team?”

Jaime’s left hand reflexively went to the back of his neck. “Short version? Mind control. The new PR guy, Max Lord, has taken control of everyone currently on the Watchtower.”

Nightwing buried his face into his hands. “Right. So you went to Red Hood to get some help to stop him. And you came to me to get more allies.”

Jaime nodded. “Yeah; anyone immune was sent away, or in Red Tornado’s case, deactivated. But it’s not all bad news. We do have an idea of how to break the hold.”

Nightwing nodded. “Good. Do I pass your test?”

“You figured that out?”

“Trained by the world’s greatest detective. You could have called me to meet you somewhere- it would have been more secure- but you chose surprising me so that I couldn’t call in the team or League for an ambush if I was under Max’s thumb. But Jaime- how did you figure out my secret identity?”

Jaime looked away from Nighwing guiltily, “The scarab figured it out.”

Nightwing glanced at Jaime sideways, and said, “Of course. And by the way, most people call me Dick Grayson, not Richard. Just for future reference. I do have one more question though.”

Jaime looked back at Nightwing, “yeah?”

“Do I get to meet Red Hood?”

* * *

 

“You are going to love Themyscira! Queen Hippolyta is so cool, and all the Amazons are tough warriors or workers or artists or-” Cassie said, flying with Asami with the young lady holding the lasso like a lifeline.

“Do they speak English?” Asami asked, eyeing the vast ocean below.

“No, ancient Greek,” Karen said, zipping under Cassie and Asami. “Thankfully, some do know English, and Cassie can speak their language.”

Cassie nodded. “Plus, some of the women have been making efforts to learn every language possible, thanks to Wonder Woman!”

Asami looked up at the girl who was the only thing stopping her from falling into the sea, and said, “How much longer?”

“Should be coming up pretty soon,” Karen said. “In fact, that island on the horizon is probably it.”

“Definitely!” Cassie shouted, smiling.

Asami let out a sigh of relief, and then mumbled a prayer of thanks.

As they touched down on the shore, a mini mob of Amazonians came up to them, and started blurting out questions. Finally, Cassie said something in ancient Greek, and they all calmed down.

Finally, an Amazon came forward with a gentle smile. “I am Queen Hippolyta, and welcome my fellow sisters to this island. How may I help you?

* * *

 

Ed looked over Roy’s shoulder, seated behind him on the motorcycle. “So, any idea how much further?” Ed shouted over the roaring wind.

“Should be there by tomorrow afternoon if we drive through the night,” Roy said. “At least Star City is warmer than Gotham.”

“And a furnace compared to the midwest,” Ed said, shivering at the memories of their journey across that region.

“Speaking of the midwest,” Roy said, pointing towards a road sign, “This might be the last place to get actual food for a while, want to stop?”

Ed agreed, remembering the ‘fifty miles to next gas station’ signs that punctuated the midwest’s plains. Roy turned them into the parking lot of a small 24 hour diner, shaking his legs as he jumped off.

It was mostly empty, just a single waitress and five patrons scattered about. And in one corner was a small television playing captioned commercials.

Both boys ordered as soon as the waitress approached, each randomly picking a meal that looked cheap and edible.

As they waited, Roy kept glancing at the television in the corner before furrowing his eyes and telling Ed, “Hey, look at that.”

Ed turned around to see a nervous looking Kid Flash being interviewed by G. Gordon Godfrey. Even without being able to hear the voices he could tell that Godfrey had the upper hand, and Kid Flash was scrambling to convince the world that someone who had taken the time to save civilians and help a presidential hopeful like Lex was under evil mind control.

“Wow, that backfired,” Ed said, turning back to Roy, “but this might be good for us?”

“Maybe not,” Roy grumbled, “I mean if that asshole is for something you should probably be against it and vice versa.”

Roy sighed and ignored the man finishing his apple pie who, while sitting at the opposite end of the restaurant, was watching them with oddly yellow eyes. Instead he passed the time waiting by flicking sugar packets across the table with Ed.

“So, do you think the call worked?” Roy asked.

Ed nodded. “I’m sure it did. Peacemaker will probably be joining Jaime soon enough.”

Roy’s eyes then flickered up to the TV behind Ed.

“Ok, now even I’m conflicted.”

Ed twisted back in his seat to look at the television just in time to catch the splash-line. “Lex Luthor: if he cannot protect his business, how can he protect us?”

* * *

 

“Thanks for letting us crash here, Nigh-Dick,” Jaime said, the name feeling weird on his mouth.

Dick waved a hand in the general direction of the three other heroes. “No problem. Besides, if we’re going to head out to Fawcett, it’s better to do it in the morning. Trains don’t have the best people on them at this time at night, and we don’t want to draw attention to ourselves.” At that, Dick glanced in Red Hood’s direction, staring at the mask.

Red Hood shrugged. “You have masks and make-up for undercover work, right? I’ll just use that.”

“Right, because a superhero who has only been allowed to give away his identity to those approved by Batman can just be strolled up to, but God forbid a vigilante with a few murders to his name lets anyone know who he is,” Dick muttered under his breath. “Fine, have at it in the morning. You three should go to bed; we’ve got a long day ahead of us.”

“What about you?” Tye said, glancing at the table. “Don’t you need to sleep?”

Dick shrugged. “I’m used to pulling long hours with Batman.”

Red Hood verbally scowled. “I bet even Batman made sure to get a decent amount of sleep, though; it’s not good for your body to be running on fumes constantly.”

“I have some leads to research,” Dick gritted out.

“Great. I can help. Let’s go,” Red Hood said, sitting at the table.

“You wouldn’t understand,” Dick said, standing up.

“Wouldn’t understand what? Losing someone? Losing your life?”

“Losing someone important and knowing, for the first time in your life, the first out of the many people that you’ve lost,  that there’s a slight chance you could actually get them back!” Nightwing said, slamming his hands on the table.

He took a couple of deep breaths, and everyone avoided mentioning the condensation gathering in Dick’s eyes.

“At least you know there’s a chance you can do something about it,” Tye mumbled, glancing at Jaime.

_[The Nightwing’s usually flawless logic has been affected by lack of sleep, proper nutrition, and overexertion. Inform him that sleep is required for him to be of use.]_

Jaime hid a small smile, and said, “Even the scarab thinks you should sleep, _esé_. We’ll look over the notes to see if there’s anything the three of us can think of that you wouldn’t have, and we’ll talk some more in the morning. After all, we will have plenty of time on the ride to Fawcett.”

Defeated, Nightwing staggered over to his bedroom and shut the door. After half an hour, Jaime peeked in and asked his scarab if he was asleep; when scanners confirmed it, he smiled at the other two, and they began looking over the notes.

* * *

 

“So, Sisters, what brings you to our island?” Hippolyta asked as she led the girls to the palace, Asami surveying the area while Cassie and Karen focused on the queen.

“Bad news,” Karen said. “We need aid.”

Cassie stepped forward. “What our Sister is trying to say is that there is a villain mentally controlling the entire Justice League and team, and we have a plan to free them from the guy’s control, but we need as much help as we can get.”

“And what of Diana?” Hippolyta asked, turning towards them.

“She was gotten out of the way pretty quickly, sent on a diplomatic mission to Mars,” Karen said.

“How is that ‘getting someone out of the way’? My older daughter is a prized diplomat, and it would make sense for her to go on a mission like that.”

“Without communication for weeks after her departure?” Karen asked, hands on her hips.

“In times not that long past it was not uncommon even between our islands. And another planet is much farther than another Greek island. Besides, not sending messages during delicate talks could be a tactic to ensure there is no ill will to those they are visiting,” Hippolyta said.

She then turned around to face the other women, and continued speaking.

“I understand that you are concerned; however, as Queen of a sovereign nation, I must make sure that an attack is warranted. Our news source shows that the League is operating normally, and that nothing more than usual is of concern on Man’s World. However, that does not mean I will be callous to you; you may stay on Themscyria as long as you like, and if any Amazon wishes to join you in your endeavor, I shall not forbade it.”

“In that case, do you know where Donna is?” Cassie said, smiling.

* * *

 

Dick yawned as he woke up, stretching his arms. It really had been a while since he got a proper night of sleep; Bruce and Alfred would have his head for being so careless about his physical condition. It was still dark outside, given that it was the longest night of the year, and as he walked into his living room, he saw Jaime and Tye splayed out on the couch, snoring, with a taller man that could only be Red Hood sitting at the table, watching television.

Dick squinted, trying to make out the man’s facial features. However, due to his scarf, a pair of sunglasses, and a wide brimmed hat, there wasn’t much to go off of besides a few locks of black hair and maybe a patch or two of skin. Chances were that even the nose hidden under the scarf wasn’t really the shape it seemed like, given the various accessories and make ups that made up Dick’s costume supply.

“You know, sunglasses in the middle of winter isn’t exactly the most subtle thing in the world,” Dick said.

Red Hood didn’t even bother to turn around, snorting. He just pointed at the TV and said, “This was recorded last night.”

Everyone’s favorite talking head appeared on the screen, saying, “If Luthor can’t even keep his own business with his own money protected from these vigilantes, what hope does he have of protecting us?”

“G. Gordan is taking a stand against Luthor? Why?” Dick asked, leaning forward.

“I don’t know, but I’m guessing it might have something to do with the fact that he interviewed that Bart kid before this,” Red Hood said.

“Max did say that he considered himself a good guy, protecting ordinary people from those who considered themselves gods,” Jaime said from behind them, rubbing his eyes.

“Well, that’s somewhat good news,” Dick said. “If he’s going after the Light as well, it won’t be a total disaster.”

“But he’s not controlling the Light, and he is controlling the heroes,” Tye said. “If the Light decides to react badly to that, then the good guys are still at a disadvantage.”

There was a pause as everyone looked at Tye.

“How do you know about the Light?” Dick asked.

Tye shrugged. “Virgil and Jaime. Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.”

Dick sighed. “Right. And the Light probably realize the League’s been compromised. But we can’t really do anything until we take out Max. So since we’re all awake, let’s get ready to go.”

Tye and Jaime nodded, moving to get food and get out.

Dick turned around. “Aren’t you going to get ready?”

Red Hood turned to face Dick with his infuriatingly good disguise. “Another note; Godfrey came down hard on Bart, and praised us.”

“So?” Tye called, “That’s a good thing, it’ll get people off of Jaime’s back.”

“Civilians yes,” Hood answered, “heros on the other hand.”

“They’ll know to distrust anything out of Godfrey’s mouth,” Dick sighed. “I’ll get the Axe for throwing off any sense of smell. We’ll just have to lay as low as possible.”

* * *

 

Asami sighed. It was bad enough that she had to be separated from any of the guys that she had come to trust above anyone else in the world, but the two heroes that came with her were off with another hero, talking about things that she had no idea about.

So she wandered the island. From the shore to the city she walked slowly before coming to a stop near the training grounds. It was in use so from afar she watched the various women sparing.

“They are good at what they do, are they not?”

Asami turned to head to see a red-haired Amazon standing next to her. “I could have them teach you some moves, if you want.”

Asami smiled. “I would like that.”

* * *

 

Christopher Smith, also known as Peacemaker, spun around at the sound of someone clearing their throat behind him. It wasn’t a scared spin, but purposeful and coinciding with the drawing of both of his weapons. He glared at the man dressed as a bat who was standing way closer to him than he liked.

“What the hell do you want?”

Batman didn’t back down from his glare, “We’re looking for Jaime Reyes.”

Peacemaker snorted, “did you lose him, again?”

Batman frowned and Peacemaker continued to talk.

“You know this is exactly why I didn’t want him joining your little club in the first place. Wish the kid would have listened instead of getting starry-eyed at the thought of the Justice League. So who took him this time?”

“No one kidnapped him,” Batman deadpanned, “He left of his own accord however-”

“About damn time,” Peacemaker cut him off.

Batman glared at him and continued talking. “However we believe that he is back under control of the scarab.”

Peacemaker didn’t back down from Batman’s glare and kept his guns leveled at him, “That’s bullcrap.”

Batman took a step forward and Peacemaker did not budge.

“It is true,” Batman explained, “he has been been acting oddly, jumping out of the Watchtower without armor and hanging out with gun toting murdering maniacs.”

Peacemaker glanced down at his own guns, still pointed at Batman, before raising an eyebrow and speaking.

“Two things. One, you all don’t exactly have the best track record with determining when he is, or isn’t under control. As I seem to recall he spent, what weeks, months before anyone noticed that something was wrong and even longer until any of you even did anything about it. And two if you want to equate mind control with people acting weird, you take the cake.”

Batman sighed, “Can we not get into this now? That was league business, and I seem to recall you not wanting to be part of the league. So you don’t get to lecture us on not including you in league business.”

Peacemaker frowned, “And this isn’t league business.”

“Our sources say that he is heading in your direction,” Batman took a step back, “just let us know if you see him.”

“Fine,” Peacemaker grumbled, “if I see him I’ll give your little _league,_ a call.”

And at Batman’s unconvinced look, Peacemaker continued.

“My promise on this is as firm as your promise to handle Gotham without external aid.”

“What are you implying?” Batman asked.

“What do you think I’m implying,” Peacemaker said, taking a step forward, “I do watch the damn news.”

Batman turned away, “I’ll be expecting that call then.”

Before Peacemaker could blink the superhero was gone. And Peacemaker made his way back to his bike. Before he got to it he made up his mind. He was going to find out what had made Batman act so weird, and he had the gut feeling that that was exactly what the kid wanted him to do.

That was almost a plan out of Jaime, who had come a long way from the scared kid in power armor that he had originally met.

* * *

 

Arsenal walked up the stairs to the apartment, and Ed trailed behind him.

“Think they will help?” Ed asked.

Arsenal shrugged. “Red Arrow is a hero, and he was the only one searching for me. Plus, his wife is Artemis’ sister.”

“Artemis?”

“Another archer that GA trained while I was on ice. She apparently faked her death to be a mole on the Light, but came out of hiding.”

Arsenal approached the door, and quickly knocked. The door opened quickly.

“You have a lot of nerve coming here after the stunt you pulled,” Jade said, cradling Lian, “But you are my brother in law, so you and your friend can come on in. However, I expect you to babysit for me in return.”

Jade lazily waved the two boys inside, and Ed closed the door behind them.

“So, what brings you two here?” Jade said.

“It’s really something we should be talking about with the other Roy as well,” Ed said, looking around the room.

“I’m here,” Red Arrow said, coming in from the kitchen. “Jade, take Lian to the other room for a second, please.”

Jade smirked, and walked just out of sight with her hands on Lian’s ears.

Red Arrow then turned to Arsenal. “What the hell were you thinking! I thought you learned from the first time you went after Luthor, or that time you endangered the team on a Lex Corp mission. But this. This is worse. Not only was it crazy and reckless, but also completely pointless!”

“Crazy and reckless? You don’t know the half of it. Pointless? No,” Ed said, coming forward.

Jade slipped back into the room. “Roy are you losing your touch? With how mad you were when that fight aired, I was expecting them to be more cowed by now.”

“So did I,” Red Arrow said, leaning back, folding his arms, and focusing a glare on Arsenal. “I did not spend five years searching for you for you to go and just _die_. Now, explain.”

Arsenal smirked. “I was actually called in as a favor. Do you two know what’s happening with the League?”

“They’re taking a hit in the PR department, I know that,” Jade said.

“And it’s thanks to their new PR rep, who has managed to pretty much mind control the entire League and team. Blue Beetle and Wonder Girl are immune, so he tried to off them,” Ed added.

“And, in order to beat the guy, we needed an inhibitor collar from Lex Corp. I cause a distraction, Wonder Girl pretends to fight me, Blue Beetle and Red Hood on civilian protection, and another squad to get the collar,” Arsenal said, smirking and looking at his metallic fingers to drive his satisfaction home.

“So you came here to ask us to help you fight off the League and team to get them free from control,” Jade said with a cold voice.

Ed nodded. “We need as many heroes who aren’t being controlled as we can; we sort of have an idea of how to free people. That is to say we did it once, but not since.”

“You two are great fighters, know the League pretty well, and are under Max’s radar,” Arsenal added.

“Absolutely not,” Jade said. “One of us on one mission is fine, but I am not leaving my daughter an orphan.”

Roy sighed. “I have to agree with Jade; besides, that’s a pretty tall tale to swallow. Especially since Godfrey agrees with you.”

“What? So you think that Blue Beetle and Wonder Girl went evil?” Arsenal said.

“Not necessarily, but things can be way different than they seem,” Red Arrow said, glancing to the side.

“So you’re going to write them off?” Arsenal glanced at Jade. “You’re going to write your sister, who’s under the thumb of some delusional businessman, off?”

Jade scowled. “Yes, how dare I decide to not abandon my daughter to go fight the League and Team who don’t seem controlled on the words of someone who got this story from someone else!”

Red Arrow sighed. “Look, we’ll help if you get some solid proof. You can stay the night if you help around the place. Deal?”

Arsenal looked like he was about to argue, so Ed stepped forward. “Deal.”

* * *

 

“So, Donna, will you help?” Cassie asked, sitting across from the Amazon after finishing her explanation.

“Of course. I cannot let my friends on the Team and League be manipulated by this man. And your plan is sound. Still having more of our Sisters helping us would be better; we should look for solid proof to give my mother before we have to regroup,” Donna said.

Karen smiled. “That won’t be too hard; we just need to show the Queen that Max sent heroes to kill Cassie.”

“That doesn’t sound very fun,” Cassie said, crossing her arms. “Right Asa- hey, where did Asami go?”

Donna shrugged. “She walked out a while ago, given that we were talking about team stuff I don’t blame her. Let’s look for her; she shouldn’t be in any danger on this island, but if we’re talking about the plan, she should be included.”

* * *

 

When Freddie opened the door to see four guys with black hair, he carefully scanned their features.

“You look like Nightwing,” he said to one of them.

The guy nodded. “That’s because I am.” He pulled out a birdarang and then pocketed it once he was sure Freddie recognized it.

Freddie sighed in relief.

“That’s perfect. Mary and I really need your help with something. Come on in,” he said, leaving the door open as he used his crutches to go to the living room.

“Mary, Nightwing’s here, he brought- um,” Freddie said, turning around to face the group.

“Who are you?” he asked the not-Nightwings.

“Blue Beetle,” Jaime said, “and this is Red Hood, and my friend Tye.” Jaime pointed at each respective person.

“Right, Blue Beetle, Red Hood, and Tye,” Freddie finished.

“What’s wrong?” Tye asked.

“We can’t get Billy to be Captain Marvel,” Mary said as she entered the room. “No matter what we do, he won’t say the word. He says it’s because he hasn’t been getting good grades, getting a B last marking period, but-”

“But that’s not like Billy; the wizard once had to tell him that he deserved a life of his own in order to stop him from being Captain Marvel all the time,” Freddie finished.

“Sounds like Max’s work,” Red Hood said.

“Uh, who’s Max?” Freddie asked.

“PR guy mind controlling League,” Tye said. “We came here to ask for your help to fight him off.”

“Of course we will,” Mary said, “But do you know if there’s any way we could help Billy?”

Tye shuffled from foot to foot. “We only managed to get Virgil free because I was yelling at him about abandoning his friends.”

Mary sighed, “Right. We already tried yelling at Billy for abandoning the people of Fawcett, but all that did was upset him. We’ve tried tricking him into saying the Wizard’s name, forcing him… Well, hopefully whenever M’gann comes back from the mission, she can help us.”

Freddie then looked at the four, and said, “Can you fill us in on everything that’s been going on?”

* * *

 

Cassie, Karen, and Donna looked over the training fields as Asami charged with her sword. She was relatively quickly disarmed, but still managed to get a few good thrusts and mock blows in on her opponent.

Said opponent laughed. “You’re a natural! Ever held a sword before today?”

“Two times in Kendo club,” Asami said. “I had to quit, though.”

“Still, for only two times, you are pretty good. I actually enjoy training you, far more than I thought I would!” The Amazon laughed, and said, “Alright, now here’s what you need to do…”

“Do you want to interrupt them?” Karen said. “Asami looks like she’s having fun.”

Donna shrugged. “We can inform her at dinner tonight; besides, I never saw our Artemis have so much fun either.”

“There’s an Amazon named Artemis? Did she ever meet the team’s Artemis?” Karen asked.

Donna laughed. “Yes, and it was an interesting encounter.”

* * *

 

Max was sorting through piles of newspaper clippings and team reports in his office on the Watchtower when Bart slid to a stop in front of him. Max didn’t bother looking up. He remained focused on his work until the rattle from Bart’s tapping foot made his entire desk shake. Max gave a sigh and looked up.

At his glance Bart stopped tapping and began speaking with a smile.

“I’m all finished, record time too I bet.”

Max simply nodded and went back to his paperwork. But in an instant Bart was at his desk and had placed his hands on top of the work.

“But what I don’t get,” Bart said rapidly, “is how emptying these vials at airports all over the world is going to help us find Blue?”

Max pushed himself away from his desk, and asked disinterestedly, “I don’t supposed you ever played a little game called pandemic?”

Bart shook his head in response and Max continued speaking.

“No, I suppose you wouldn’t. The point of the game is to make a disease that spreads as fast and as far as possible before it is cured. You pay points for different symptoms and transmission methods. Me, I always went for airborne, you get your disease near an airport and it spreads like wildfire.”

Bart pulled back from the desk as if he had been burned, “Wait are you saying I just unleashed viruses across the world?”

“Not quite,” Max answered calmly, “The OMAC project was designed not to be dangerous to its host. What it was designed to do was build a sensor network through virus like distribution. One that we can use, in part, to look for Blue Beetle.”

Bart relaxed slightly and said, “Oh, still feels kinda invasion of privacy. That is still a thing in the past right?”

“You don’t need to worry about it,” Max commanded, gingerly dabbing away the blood from his nose.

“Of course,” Bart responded with glazed eyes.

When they returned to normal a moment later he continued speaking, “but once we find him, then what? How are we going to help him?”

“I’ll show you,” Max said standing up slowly.

He strode to the back of the room and slid open a panel on the wall. And as Bart watched, Max entered a numeric combination and a hidden door slid open. The first thing that Bart noticed about the room was a raised metal slab shaped like a person with cuffs at the wrists and ankles and some form of electrical interface on the upper back. Bart looked away. The rest of the room was covered in blinking computers. The shear amount of information that they displayed was more than even Bart could take in and provided a nice distraction.

“Atom has been working on this.” Max said gesturing to the room, “It should suppress the scarab’s control while giving the user access to the scarab’s abilities.”

Bart glanced back to the metal slap frowning, “And you’re sure it will help him?”

“Absolutely. It’s the best thing we can do for him.”

“Ok,” Bart said, ignoring the small amount of blood under Max’s nose and beginning to smile, “crash.”

“That is precisely the plan,” Max said.

He then showed Bart how to lock down the table and begin the scarab suppression system, just in case both he and Atom were indisposed. Bart memorized the instructions easily and it was not long before Max was sending Bart off, citing work that he had to finish. Bart rushed out of the room quickly, but Max did not follow. Instead he went and laid his hand on the empty metal slab and spoke to himself.

“Oh Jaime, I need you to stop running and come back. I can only control so many OMACs at one time. But with you at the helm, you could control them all. We would never have to worry about the people who die when gods clash. Klarion would no longer be allowed to wreak havoc as a mere distraction. The Justice League’s grudge matches would no longer take out cities. This is something you want.”

He sighed and walked over to one of the blinking computers, scanning over the updates that thousands of OMACs were streaming in. Several caught his eye, and he continued to talk out loud.

“And if you won’t come back on your own, I’ll force you out and destroy your misguided resistance in one stroke. I’m sorry Jaime but this is for the greater good.”

With several key strokes he locked onto three target locations that his OMACs had identified. Without the scarab his control was still limited, and he had to choose a small fraction of those infected to turn, and split that group into three. Still he reasoned that their offensive abilities, derived from the scarab should be more than enough.

And with the click of a mouse he gave the order.

Attack.


	14. Proof: Either you find it or it finds you

With the rising of the sun, Karen, Donna, and Cassie met up by the training fields where Asami was doing drills with the other Amazons. When Asami flubbed a step and a look of panic overtook her face, another Amazon suddenly had slippery fingers instead of a perfect grip, and let her weapon fall to the ground.

“Why did Arisa do that?” Cassie asked. “Every time I trained here, I would just be told to pick up, try again, and do better.”

“You know our history; many sisters are the reincarnations of those murdered in instances of domestic violence, or otherwise have experience with those who did not have happy home lives. For those, harsh reprimands would only make things worse,” Donna explained. Then she turned towards Karen. “Any luck convincing any others?”

Karen nodded. “Phillipus agreed to join us, as did Helena. Otherwise, though, no real luck.”

“I managed to convince Theophania, but otherwise I am afraid I have also had little luck,” Donna said. 

“I wouldn’t say that,” said a voice from behind the trio. They turned around to see the Amazonian Artemis. “Asami gave quite the convincing argument during training today; all the warriors you saw doing drills will be joining.”

Asami stood next to the Amazon, and grinned. “They are teaching me special fighting moves for fighting Max,” she added.

Cassie smiled widely. “Ten more helping! That was amazing!”

Asami couldn’t help but grin and blush.

Karen looked up over the heads of the others, and asked, “Are metallic blue people common around here?” 

Donna instinctively turned around, and after seeing one blast at some of the Amazons, shouted, “Sisters! We are under attack!”

“Finally,” Artemis muttered, and then yelled, “Ladies! In formation!”

Spears were gathered, catapults set up, arrows notched, all in record time. Meanwhile, Cassie, Donna, and Karen flew up. 

“We will help knock them down towards you, sisters!” Donna said, unleashing her lasso on the nearest one to throw it to the ground. 

It was followed up by a quick stab to the gut from Artemis.

As Artemis pulled out her sword, she said, “Huh, these things do bleed.” 

The Amazon then led the ground warriors to keep the OMACs from getting back up. Artemis smiled as she saw their Queen join the fray, clearly a superior warrior.

Artemis ignored the cry of a fellow warrior at first, until she recognized Xanthe as saying, “That’s the fisher woman from a nearby island!”

Artemis dispatched another OMAC, and making sure that nobody was going to sneak up on her, turned around to see what Xanthe was going on about.

Like Xanthe said, there was the fisher woman who often worked the nearby seas with respect, sometimes trading with the Amazons. She had been impaled by a sword of the same make as Artemis’, and was lying in the exact same spot an OMAC had been not a couple of minutes ago.

Turning to their Queen, Artemis saw that she had realized the same thing. The Queen ordered, “Non-lethal attacks only! There are innocents under that armor!”

The apprehension on the Queen’s face was clear; the armor was clearly technology from Man’s World. As the same armor their foes were clad in started to grow on Xanthe, Artemis knew the Queen’s decision.

 

* * *

Arsenal was carefully looking at Red Arrow as the clone fed his daughter. Arsenal studied every interaction, how careful the man was, and at how the little girl cooed at her father, a ring of baby food around her mouth.

“Something interesting?” Red Arrow said.

Arsenal shook his head. “She just… it’s odd.”

Red Arrow stared at Arsenal’s face. “I know.”

Then they both turned their heads at the sound of a knock on the door. “I’ll get it,” Jade said, coming out of her and Red Arrow’s room with bed hair. 

She opened the door to see a yellow eyed woman who stared at the two Roys for a second before blue armor covered her. Jade cursed, and kicked the armored woman, using the momentum to jump closer to the two Roys.

“Ed, get in here!” Arsenal shouted as he cocked his prosthetic arm. 

A shimmer of light appeared in the room, followed shortly by Ed.

“That looks like Blue’s armor…” he mumbled, watching as the figure began to move forward.

Red Arrow looked at Jade, then at the baby, then at Ed. Jade nodded.

Red Arrow pulled Ed back from the fight and carefully placed Lian in Ed’s arms. 

“Take her somewhere safe,” he said, “we’ll call you when we deal with this.”

Ed nodded, looked out the window, and disappeared to an alley below. Red Arrow picked up his bow from beneath the couch, and Arsenal let loose a laser that drew blood from the OMAC.

“Guess this guy is just a cheap knock-off,” Arsenal muttered.

“Then we can definitely beat it,” Jade said, pulling out some hidden knives and launching herself into an attack, slipping her knives into the space formed by Arsenal’s attack. As the OMAC fell, the three smiled.

“That wasn’t so hard. I didn’t even have to draw an arrow,” Red Arrow said, smiling. 

Several more then converged on the apartment. 

“You just had to say that, didn’t you,” Arsenal asked dryly.

“Just try not to kill them,” Red Arrow said in a bored tone. 

 

* * *

“ So that’s why we are gathering allies outside of the League and team,  _ esé _ ,” Jaime said as everyone else finished up their food.

“I’ll help however I can, but-” Billy said.

“You won’t say the magic word because of Max’s mojo,” Tye said, crossing his arms and frowning.

“Sorry,” Billy said quietly.

“Don’t worry, we’ll figure this out,” Mary said, placing a hand on Billy’s shoulder and smiling at him.

Jaime grinned as well. For the first time it felt as though things were finally beginning to come together. Even if Billy could not transform right away at least the other Marvels could and he didn’t seem to have been hit with the ‘Blue Beetle is on mode’ beam that had affected so many other teammates.

A pressure formed in his head, and Jaime brought his hand up to his forehead. It felt like the first time he had come face to face with Black Beetle, and that was a disturbing similarity.

As he stood the scarab was already forming armor around him and beginning to shout warnings in his head.

“We’ve got trouble,” Jaime whispered.

Tye rolled his eyes and looked at his armor, “yeah we figured.”

Mary quickly grabbed a remote, and turned on the news. It was playing a special report, showing mysterious blue flying people. 

“It looks like they’re coming from the North side of town,” she said, “Let’s head out! Shazam!”

After Freddy turned into Sergeant Marvel and Mary into Lieutenant Marvel, the group gathered to head outside.

As they were about to head out, Billy said, “Wait, bring me!”

“If you’re not going to ‘shazam’ up, you’re kind of useless,” Red Hood said.

“Like you are without powers?” Billy sighed. “I can direct civilians away, keep people away from the fight, and better than a lot of non-supers. Please?”

Sergeant Marvel grinned. “Fine by me, Captain. I’ll carry you. Lieutenant can you give Red Hood and Nightwing a lift. While Blue Beetle carries… Tye. Let’s head out!”

After setting Billy down on the streets, the superheroes took a quick survey of the situation. Tye instantly let his longshadow surround him and smacked one of the blue suited things to the ground.

They came in droves; Red Hood took out his guns, and grinned as the bullets seemed to at least scratch the things, but frowned when he realized how ineffective they were.

“Any reason they look like you, Blue Beetle?” Sergeant Marvel shouted.

“According to the scarab, they’re something called an OMAC, and based on my armor- including using people as a host!” Blue Beetle said, eyes wide.

“Focus,” Nightwing shouted, “what weaknesses can we use?” 

“Magic! Magic and- Apokaliptian Technology,” Blue Beetle responded as he shot another OMAC to the ground.

Lieutenant Marvel grinned, and flew underneath an OMAC, grabbing hold and shouting, “Shazam!” 

The magic lightning made the OMAC pause, and Sergeant Marvel took the opportunity to tear the armor off. Satisfied that the person was free, he set the civilian down and directed them towards an infirmity that Billy had set up. 

Mary waited untransformed, and the second more OMACs approached her she shouted “Shazam!”. That weakened their armor, which allowed her as Lieutenant Marvel to easily rip it off.

“Lieutenant, I’ll pull the same trick, but could you make sure I don’t get swarmed?” Sergeant Marvel called over the din.

“Sure thing! Go for it!” She called back. 

She was the only one remaining nearby. The rest of their group had pushed out against the OMACs. They had extended in all directions like spokes on a wheel, keeping the hub, Billy’s infirmary, clear.

The maneuver may have been slow, but it was very effective at freeing OMACs. And the two Marvels continued their transforming assault until one OMAC plasma cannon hit the street just feet from where recently freed civilians were attempting to gain their bearings.

Lieutenant Marvel weakened its armor with her transformation back to Mary, and Sergeant Marvel finished removing the armor.

“I’m going to make sure they get to the Caption,” she shouted towards Sergeant, “hold the line.”

Momentarily he looked like he was going to argue. But then he simply nodded and went back towards the fighting. Mary knew he was thinking about insisting that she transform. And she also knew that he came to the same conclusion that she had. Untransformed she could summon lightning to weaken any OMAC that attacked, and then free them as Lieutenant Marvel.  Transformed she could only fight or weaken them but freeing them became more convoluted. 

She led the newly freed civilians towards the infirmary. As they got closer, emergency personnel rushed forward, helping the civilians. And then Mary focused her attention towards the sky and towards the fight, watching for any OMAC that broke the line. 

She was so focused on the sky that she did not see the emergency personnel’s eyes turn yellow or their skin become armor until it was too late. She was grabbed by one of these newly formed OMACs from behind, and before she could get a syllable out a second one grabbed her around the neck. Then another latched onto her arm, and a fourth pushed her legs from under her. Then a fifth and sixth and on until she lost count.

Mary could see the other superheroes high in the sky. They were too far away and too focused on their own OMACs to notice her. Not that she could call out to them either. The OMACs hands clamped over her throat kept her from shouting anything and made dark spots dance in her vision. 

As the world faded she could see Billy to her left, much closer, and leading civilians out of a crumbling building. In the back of her mind she could see the OMACs turning on him once she was out of the way. And since he was unable to transform she had to prevent that from happening.

Adrenalin renewed her struggles even as it narrowed her vision more. She was able to push away from the main mass of OMACs, but was not able to break the hold of the one that had her neck.

She met Billy’s eyes, and solemnly nodded at him. He’d have time to run now. If she was to go out fighting, then that was fine, as long as she did some good.

Billy stared. He blinked once as if to clear a headache. Then he snarled and shouted.

“SHAZAM!” 

The effect was instantaneous. OMACs surrounding Mary went after Captain Marvel, and he punched them away. 

The grip on Mary’s throat loosened as the OMAC holding her identified Captain Marvel as the greater threat. 

She took the opportunity to flip the OMAC on her back and shout, “Shazam!” 

And then ripped the armor off.

“Minefield?” Lieutenant Marvel asked over the noise of battle.

Captain Marvel grinned and nodded. 

They bother dropped to the ground, letting the OMACs pile on top before they both yelled, “Shazam!”

As the magical lightning disabled the OMACs, Captain Marvel asked, “So what’s their deal?”

Lieutenant Marvel frowned, “The one’s we rip the armor off of are quickly replaced by other transformed civilians.”

She glanced over to the infirmary and two scared but familiar civilians were still sitting there, “but it looks like the ones that we free do stay free.”

Captain Marvel nodded. “Right. So looks like we will just have to rip the armor off of everyone in the city. I think we can do that.”

Lieutenant Marvel smiled. “Even if you are out of practice; it shouldn’t take too long!”

Together all of the Marvels carved a path through the OMACs in Fawcett city. And for a while it seemed like they were freeing people faster than the armor could be replaced. 

They were feeling confident, at least until two clouds of OMACs began approaching from both the eastern and the western horizons.

 

* * *

As two tiny fingers yanked on his head, Ed started to regret letting the girl anywhere near his hair. However, Lian seemed to be a precocious toddler, and it was hard to deny her anything with those adorable eyes.

“Where daddy,” she gurgled, looking at him. 

“Home,” Ed said, smiling. “Daddy just wanted me to look after you for a second, okay?”

Ed really wasn’t sure how well she understood him. She was between one and two years old, right? Which meant nothing to the boy who had never babysat anyone younger than five.

Hearing a familiar ringtone, Ed picked up his phone with his unoccupied hand, and answered it. “ _ Hola _ ?”

“Hey Ed, it’s Arsenal. We’re clear.”

“Really? That quickly?” Ed looked skeptically at the phone.

“Yeah. It was as easy as freeing Mongul.”

At the codephrase, Ed relaxed. So it was Roy, and he wasn’t being threatened.

“I’ll be there soon. But really, what happened?”

“They all just paused and looked weird, saying ‘Controller Protocol Activated’, and left.”

 

* * *

All over the island, the OMACs paused. “Controller Protocol Activated” they said, one after the other, and flew off even as the Amazons attacked those retreating.

“Filthy cowards!” the Amazonian Artemis spat, tears brimming in her eyes. “Finish this battle like warriors!”

A hand came up from behind her, placing itself on her shoulder. “We will,” Asami said. “We will go after them.”

“Spoken like an Amazon,” Queen Hippolyta said, approaching the two. As Troia, Wonder Girl, and Bumblebee came to the ground and the other Amazons gathered near, Queen Hippolyta raised her voice. “Tonight, we shall honor and bury the dead, praying to the gods that they may find themselves in the Elysian Fields. Tomorrow, we talk with our allies about the plan of attack against the one who could turn good women into creatures of destruction. For our fallen friends will never be forgotten, but they shall be avenged!”

“At least something good came out of this battle,” Cassie said, hair matted with sweat.

“Yeah, but the whole ‘Controller Protocol Activated’ thing worries me. What was so important that they dropped a battle to do?” Karen said, one fist under her chin.

 

* * *

Jaime extended his wings, forcing at least three OMACs off of his back. He wasn’t worried about them hurting him. Since they had weaker versions of the scarab’s weapons, the scarab could easily adjust his armor and cancel them out. 

But through the sheer numbers of them, they were slowly but surely separating him from the rest of his group and leading him somewhere. And Jaime did not want to go wherever that was, not if Max was in any way behind this. 

Still it was like fighting with his arms tied behind his back. There were people in there, and he couldn’t risk an attack breaking through the armor.

Another OMAC latched onto his shoulder, pulling him backwards. They constantly grabbed at arms and legs, their grip too strong and their numbers too many for his wings to lift him. And the attack that hit the back of his knees let him know that they were right under where his jetpack would form. He couldn’t risk that.

He felt himself being dragged. And although he didn’t know exactly where all the Zeta platforms were in Fawcett, he could guess that was where they were trying to take him. 

The Marvels were out flying at the other end of the battlefield, and he could see the backs of Red Hood and Nightwing slip farther away.

He let another attack, mostly light, to hopefully stun and blind the OMACs. It didn’t work, and the OMACs kept their tight hold even as he was lifted straight up into the air.

Tye held him gently in one giant glowing hand while using his other to flick off the OMACs still clinging to him.

Like ants, the OMACs continued to swarm both Tye and Jaime. They clung to Tye’s legs even as he swatted and Jaime blasted others out of the air. The could both see the reinforcements coming on the horizons.

“We need to retreat.”

Tye nodded and his form shrunk slightly. That loosened the grip of the OMACs at his legs enough for him to pull away and start making a beeline towards Nightwing and Red Hood. 

Jaime didn’t dare leave his position near Tye’s shoulder. He instead lit up the sky above him with short exploding blasts until he could see three non-OMACs fly towards him. 

He kept his eyes on the Marvel’s approach until he heard Nightwing call up at him.

“What’s going on?”

Tye continued to keep the area around the group clear as Jaime called back down.

“When the scarab recommends retreat, I’m thinking it’s long past time to get out of here.”

All three Marvel’s landed before Nightwing could respond.

“He’s right,” Sergeant Marvel said, “each time we free one another just takes their place, we can’t keep this up.”

Captain Marvel nodded, “and using the magic lightning from the transformation isn’t working either, I think that they’re adapting.”

“Good to have you back Captain,” Nightwing nodded. He hit an OMAC away from their group before he continued to talk, “The closest place I can think of that we could hide at and defend is in Hub city. But that’s still a bit of a hike.”

Red Hood reholstered his guns, and pulled out a screwdriver from somewhere within his jacket. He flipped over one OMAC moving away from the group before round house kicking a second one and smashing the window of a parked older van. He didn’t bother to open the door, but instead just jumped through the window. 

With practiced ease he used the screwdriver to pop open the cover of the ignition switch. He played with wires for a few moments before the van roared to life.

He hit the gas hard and then the breaks. He skidded to a stop in the middle of their group before leaning over and unlocking the doors.

With Tye and Jaime covering them, the rest of the group was able to get into the van. But it was all that they could do to keep the vehicle from getting swarmed. 

Tye reached up to his shoulder, but Jaime pulled back and said.

“ No way  _ hermano. _ ”

Tye’s astral projected head turned towards him, but Jaime didn’t back down. Instead Jaime laid a hand on him and said.

“Everyone is getting out of here.”

Jaime redirected his gaze towards his own shoulder, “I do have a plan. And it is a good one. Trust me, I just need to get at my pockets.”

Reluctantly the armor slid away from Jaime, leaving Tye as their only defence against the OMACs. But not for long.

Jaime grabbed the Apokoliptic box out of the front pocket of his hoodie and turned it up to full power. The OMACs fell away from them.

Tye didn’t waste anytime shrinking down and pulling both him and Jaime into the van. Before he could fully close the door, much less shout at Red Hood to book it, the van was already speeding out of the city.

Jaime kept the Apokoliptian device on as he and Tye pulled themselves into the two remaining seats. 

At the front of the van Nightwing argued with Red Hood for control of the van since he knew where they were going.

Jason glanced in his rearview mirror. He could already see the radius that the Apokoliptic device made shrinking. And a perfect cover was not worth getting captured by the OMACs for. Besides he was sure that someone other than Batman must know about the safe houses in the unfinished subway tunnels of Hub city.

 

 


	15. Road Trip

“So,” Tye asked as they walked around in the dark tunnels, “How do you know about this place?”

“Batman’s files are pretty thorough. He has a record of every secret base and warehouse any superhero has,” Nightwing said, shining his flashlight at a particular alcove. “And here it should be.”

All of the heroes crawled through the graffitied wooden boards, Tye pulled out his cellphone, rapidly texting. “Good cell reception for an underground tunnel. That common?”

Freddie shook his head. “No, most tunnels I lived in had horrible reception, especially the abandoned ones. However, since we’re near a secret base, it’s likely that it’s set up with its own communications systems.”

“And by the looks of it, this place isn’t half bad,” Mary said, taking in the decently furnished, if dusty, area.

Nightwing nodded and flicked on the power for a computer that looked like it would have been state of the art two years prior. As he waited patiently for it to load up he spoke.

“We should lay low for a while and avoid public spaces, we’ve got to assume from that attack that any person is a potential spy for Max. How are we on the ally front?”

Tye kept his eyes on his phone as he answered, “both Asami and Ed are saying that recruitment went well. And I’m forwarding the advice to stay out of sight.”

“Ok, good,” Nightwing said, turning his attention back to the computer, and pulling up theories on universal shifts.

The silence that fell over the group was only punctuated by the clicking of computer keys or the vibration of Tye’s phone. That was until Red Hood started poking around, through cabinets and shelves of the safe house.

“I’ve found chocos if anyone wants one,” he called holding up a classic unopened bag, “They, uh, might be just a little stale.”

Jaime bit back a laugh as he looked over at him. Jason finding random cookies wasn’t particularly funny to him. But Ted’s notebooks weren't all work, and seeing the chocos reminded him of reading about a prank Ted pulled on J’onn. This reminder was bolstered by the fact that they were in Hub city, Ted’s old stomping ground.

Jaime pulled out an old notebook, and flipped through the pages, comparing them to the current hideaway. Glancing up, he went to a particular spot on the wall and found a small, hidden latch. He pulled it open, revealing a cupboard full of canned goods, rice, dried pasta, and old choco packages, piles of old choco packages. Jaime frowned, and turned to Nightwing.

“I think this is one of Ted’s old safe houses”

“Yeah,” Nightwing replied absently, not looking away from the computer screen.

Jaime narrowed his eyes. “So, when were you going to tell the current Blue Beetle?”

Jaime could feel everyone’s eyes on him. No one moved except for Nightwing, who slowly turned in his chair to face Jaime.

“Listen Jaime, things like safe houses and secret identities are kept secret for a reason,” Nightwing began, speaking slowly, “It’s nothing against you, but the more people that know a secret the more chances it has to be revealed. So things like this they get revealed on a need to know basis.”

“Right, so you’re fine with trusting us to fight and die for you, but giving us information, notes, that could help us,” Jaime replied, tapping on Ted’s journals before continuing, “That’s apparently a security risk.”

Nightwing sighed, “That’s not what I meant, look just imagine how much more difficult it would be to hide from Max if this base was common knowledge.”

“But imagine how much easier it would be to fight Max if you stopped giving him ammunition,” Jaime instantly growled back.

Nightwing looked at Jaime intensely, “what do you mean?”

“So you get it now,” Jaime responded doing a bad impression of a sleazy politician and throwing his free hand into the air to make air quotes, “so many of these heros cannot be trusted. They don’t truly care for the common man.”

“What?” Nightwing asked standing up and looking down at Jaime.

Jaime didn’t stop glaring at Nightwing, “that’s pretty much exactly what Max said to me, _esé._ You know, when I was under his ‘care’.”

Billy quickly moved forward, placing himself between Nightwing and Jaime. He put a restraining hand on each of them but spoke lightheartedly.  

“Well he sure wasn’t doing a good job at protecting the common man today.”

Jaime broke his glare at Nightwing to look at the ground.

“Oh no argument from me, Max is _muy hipócrita,_ but his power isn’t in his actions, it’s in his words. He-” Jaime gestured vaguely as he struggled for words.

“He’s like a used car salesman,” Tye filled in, both to help Jaime out and remembering how he and the rest of the Runaways had been fooled by Lex Luthor, “He uses a speck of truth to sell his even bigger lie.”

“Like what he did with all that ‘mode’ talk, sold something that the team-,” Red Hood paused, looking at Nightwing before amending, “Young Justice, could believe.”

“Which explains why he took over the team’s PR in the first place, He’s trying to tank our credibility,” Nightwing surmised, taking a step back but still looking at Jaime, “although apparently we don’t need much help with that.”

“Sure but still how is he going to sell taking control over thousands of innocent people?” Mary asked.

Red Hood grimaced, “according to Karen, he’s taken complete control of Superman. All he would need is to do it again, and then have him attack some populated area.”

Nightwing nodded, “And then Godfrey comes in, as he always does, and denounces the league. All Max would need to do is give him a little push and then he would raises up Max’s solution. Suddenly it’s no longer kidnapping but a draft. But then what about the Light. It didn’t look like he liked them any more than we do?”

“But think about it,” Jaime said frowning, “what would be a better target, what would be an easier push than to take out the Light in one massively overpowered first strike?”

The safe house fell silent until Tye raised his finger to his nose and said, “not it. I am not going to be the one that tells Roy our current plan involves saving Lex Luthor from the Justice League.”

* * *

 

Tye frowned at Jaime. Even if it make sense for him, Ed, and Asami to be the primary points of contact between their three groups, Tye had won the ‘not it’ game. And should therefore not be the one texting their current plan which involved acting fast for the express purpose of saving the Light, a.k.a. Lex, from the League.

“Technically you’re not the one telling him,” Jaime said lightly, as Tye’s finger hovered over the send button, “that honor will go to Ed.”

Tye gave a short laugh, “Ed’s gonna get the honor of explaining a lot.”

“Is he alright with that?”

Tye raised an eyebrow and pointed to a newly arrived text.

“I’ll say, he just suggested heading to Taos.”

Jaime grinned, “Then, I feel less bad about that being our plan.”

“I told you he wouldn’t leave us hanging.”

“I know, I know,” Jaime said putting his hands up, “I just wish we had waited for confirmation before Nightwing procured the safehouse.”

Tye nodded, and the two sat in silence while he texted the safehouse location and meeting times. Several texts later it was Tye who broke the silence.

“So the question becomes, how are we going to get there without those creepy blue knock-offs catching us?”

Jaime pulled out the box and handed it to Tye.

“Even if they can now operate under Apokoliptian tech, low level emissions should keep them from being able to scan us. So then the task just becomes staying out of sight of people by moving at night or back roads.”

Tye gave Jaime a look.

“STAR Labs stockpiles Apokoliptian Tech,” Jaime said hurriedly, “I’m pretty sure the proximity would prevent the scientists there from getting infected by the armor, as long as we move fast.”

Tye continued giving Jaime the look.

“And your ‘us’ doesn’t just include this group does it?” Jaime asked rhetorically, gesturing to the other heroes in Ted’s old safe house.

“No,” Tye said.

Jaime frowned, “Staying out of sight is still going to apply. But apokoliptian tech is the only thing I’ve encountered that beat our scanners.”

Jaime went silent for a second.

“Sorry, that’s not quite true, ‘the Zatanna’s’ magical amulet also fooled us.”

“Anything else?” Tye asked.

“Not that I’ve encountered,” Jaime frowned, “the Reach never got around to giving me a printout of their weaknesses.”

Tye glanced at his phone and looked up, “but if they did have a weakness, even if you haven’t encountered it, it should still be present in the knock offs?”

“Yeah should be. Why?”

Tye pointed to his phone, “Arsenal said his arm produced EMF interference which helped keep him hidden on the War World.”

“Good, that’s two groups down one to go. Do you think the girls have any access to magical disguises on Themyscira?”

“Asami says no on that,” Tye answered, “but how well are you at sensing and analyzing Wonder Woman’s weapons?”

“Um, they’re magic, so not great.”

Tye texted Asami and waited for a responce, “Donna says that they are technically divine gifts, not magic in the same way as Zatanna, but if the scarab can’t tell the difference then I guess that distinction shouldn’t matter.”

“It shouldn’t.” Jaime agreed.

Tye laughed.

“What is it?”

“Apparently Cassie can hit very high pitches when she’s excited about a jet,” Tye answered, “which seems to be an odd thing for someone who can fly to get excited over.”

* * *

 

“So, how far to Taos?” Mary asked as the wind whipped her hair around.

“Tired of being stuck in a van with a bunch of teenage boys?” Freddie said from the seat next to hers.

Mary rolled her eyes. “Don’t you know it! So, how far?”

“According to the GPS, four hours,” Tye called from the back where he was on the bench seat with Jaime and Red Hood.

“I have to admit, having zeta access would be great,” Billy said, twisting in his front seat to face the rest of the group, “I don’t think I could stand another road trip gunning it.”

“Yeah, well, that’s only if the scientists at Star Labs don’t report us to the League,” Hood said, leaning back against the window, and crossing his arms.

“Eduardo should be able to convince his dad, and I can convince Doctor Adam Strange. We should be fine,” Dick said, adjusting his sunglasses.

“As long as we’re not spotted,” Hood countered again.

“We’re on a back road in the desert, there’s no one here,” Dick countered, “if anyone does show up, we’ll see them approaching for miles.”

The group sunk back into an unsteady silence. It lasted for thirty minutes until Dick noticed a small shape approaching in the rearview mirror.

“Head down Jaime,” Dick said, not turning around, “We’ve got a motorcycle coming behind us.”

Jaime dutifully ducked down in his middle seat, while both Tye and Hood turned towards the window and attempted to block as much of it as possible without looking suspicious.

“Maybe it’s Ed and Roy?” Tye asked.

“No they wouldn’t be coming from this direction,” Dick answered steadily, “besides I only see one person and they are too bulky and blond to be them”

“Peacemaker!” Jaime exclaimed, “he got our message.”

He began twisting to get a view out of the back of the van, but Hood put his hand on Jaime’s back and stopped him.

“Hey, League’s most wanted, lets confirm he’s free and actually Peacemaker first,” Hood said lightly as Jaime sunk back down.

Dick eased off of the gas, allowing the van to slow slightly and the motorcycle to catch up faster. He carefully watched the approaching bike in his mirrors and once he was sure he spoke.

“That is Peacemaker,” Dick said, “and if we can confirm him as free it is good news; he’s an excellent fighter, knows about strategy, and has more experience than anyone here has been alive.”

One hasty sign later, and Dick slowed even more. He pulled slightly to the right to let the bike pass. And as Peacemaker made his way around, Mary held the sign out the open window.

Peacemaker slowed momentarily, but it wasn’t until he passed the van that he gave a response. A single wave to show that he had received the meeting place, and contact number.

The rest of the trip passed without major incident, due in part to the texts that they had received from Peacemaker warning of oncoming traffic. The group arrived at the safe house, an apartment that Dick had procured using one of his secret bank accounts. Billy left to meet with Peacemaker. The remaining group was jumpy, all eyes turned towards the window at the slightest sound.

Long minutes and a barely heard motorcycle later, the group jumped up and confirmed the arrival of Billy and Peacemaker.

When Peacemaker finally came through the apartment door, Jaime couldn’t help but go over to the man and hug him. Peacemaker just stood there, staring at Jaime.

“Uh, sorry, it’s just really good to see familiar faces that aren’t being mind controlled and are not going to have their eyes turn yellow and armor up,” Jaime said.

Peacemaker cracked a smile. “That’s fine, kid. Just glad to see that you are alright. Now, will you guys explain just what is going on?”

Tye shrugged. “He’s the only one that doesn’t know, and we do have time before the rest show up. Might as well.”

Jaime filled Peacemaker in as more and more people came to their little spot in civvies or disguises. Tye ran down to greet Asami with a kiss and a hug as she came by the door, and they both greeted Arsenal and Ed with a tight hug. When Roy and Jade came a planned hour later, it was Dick who greeted them with a smile.

As the people kept streaming in, Peacemaker said, “Taos is a good choice, kid. A small tourist town that’s deserted in the winter with plenty of free space to run and train.”

“Not to mention park an invisible plane,” Cassie added on happily.

“Don’t worry,” Donna added before Dick could ask, “It’s parked in the desert outside of town, we shouldn’t have to worry about anyone accidently running into it and blowing our cover”

“Let’s not forget our primary objective, Star Labs,” Karen said. “Ed, any way you can convince your dad that the League is being controlled?”

“Oh, that’s the easy part,” Ed said, looking sheepish. “The hard part will be explaining how a ‘trip to look at colleges with a couple of friends’ turned into ‘fighting a mind-controlled League and team’.”

“So that’s a yes,” Cassie said. “Think we could convince the rest of the STAR Labs scientists?”

Asami nodded. “I spent much time there with Ed and Tye. We know many of the scientists.”

“Plus, I have a feeling that they like us a lot more after we saved them from Red Volcano,” Tye added.

“I’ll wait until after you guys convince them to show myself, then,” Jaime said.

“And I’ll come with you, to confirm that you guys are telling the truth. Plus, you might need backup that can’t be mind controlled,” Cassie added.

“After that, though, we need to start on a plan to take down Max. The longer he has the League and Team under control, the more damage he can do,” Donna said.

“But he has most of the League and Team under his thumb; that’s a small army right there,” Jade said.

“We have an army as well,” Cassie said, smiling widely.  “An Amazonian army!”

“And we know how to stop Max from continuing to use his powers,” Karen added. “Grab him, collar him, and get the psychics to restore everyone’s minds.”

“Our best bet would probably be to storm the Watchtower, have Blue shut down the… things, and have Karen collar him while the rest of us provide cover,” Nightwing said.

“Which is what we can do once we get Zeta Tube access,” Ed said. “Meaning that first thing tomorrow morning, we are going to stop by _mi padre_ ’s favorite coffee shop.”


	16. Like a Bug in a Jar

Doctor Durado did what he did every weekday morning; he got up, checked his phone for any new messages, had a shower, and headed out after looking at Ed’s empty room, telling himself that his son was responsible and with friends and would be back soon. Worrying incessantly would not help; after all, the scientist remembered what happened the last time he put too many rules on Eduardo.

So when he went to go get coffee, he was mentally preparing himself for the day, shoving his worry into the back of his mind with the practiced ease of someone who had to do so from the first second he got a call from his mother telling him of Ed’s disappearance. Walking to the door of his coffee shop, he was snapped out of the process by one word.

“ _Padre!_ ”

Dr. Durado did not care if the coffee shop was in its morning rush, or that Asami and Tye were sitting near him. He put his coffee on the table and scooped Ed up in a hug.

“You should call more often when away, _miho_. And you should have told me the truth. I would have let you go searching for your friend. Did you find him?”

Ed let himself out of the hug. “How did you-? And, uh, we will explain everything. But we ran into something worse than a missing friend.”

“I contacted Mrs. Longshadow, of course. Now, tell me exactly what happened,” Dr. Durado said.

As the three teenagers began to explain about Virgil’s odd behavior and then continued on to their adventures in Gotham. Dr. Durado took a deep sip of his coffee every time he wanted to scold them for taking such risks or otherwise interject. The awkward months with Ed after he helped disable the Reach’s plan taught him that it was best to stay as calm as possible, as Ed only reacted to anger with anger.

After the explanation was over, Dr. Durado saw that the three teens were looking expectantly at him. He sighed.

“I believe you, _miho_. The League has been changing around zeta designations quite a bit, and it was odd to see this Maxwell Lord be given a designation. However, it is unlikely that the other scientists will accept your word as proof, given the end to your stay at STAR Labs.”

“There are others,” Asami pointed out, “members of the league and team.”

Dr. Durado nodded. “Very well then. However I assume you know that if I take all of you and your guests into the labs it will look suspicious.”

Ed shrugged, “Tye and Asami can go get our proof. And I’ve volunteered before; to see how my body uses zeta beams, and how they are created biologically to find a more efficient or less expensive way to have the zeta tubes run.”

Dr. Durado nodded again, prompting Tye and Asami to race out of the coffee shop. He and Ed took their time at the shop and walking to the lab.

It was outside the edge of the S.T.A.R. Labs campus when Dr. Durado finally asked the one question that had been plaguing him.

“Do you have a plan for dealing with this Max Lord?”

“Yes,” Ed said simply.

“Will it be safe?”

“No,” Ed answered quickly, “But I’m doing it anyway. You going to try and talk me out of it?”

“No _miho,_ ” Dr. Durado sighed, “But I hope you remember that I’m here to help and protect you.”

“I know,” Ed said with a shrug, not quite looking at his father, “that’s why I came.”

Despite his worry, Dr.Durado smiled. He ushered Ed into the building, down the hall and to the labs.

“Hi Ed!” Doctor Strange said as the father-son duo entered, “You’re back from your college search? How did it go?”

“It was a lot more interesting than I thought it would be,” Ed said, waving to the man.

“Are you here to volunteer for more experiments?” Wilcox said, eyes shining bright.

“He is, but remember; he is volunteering, and if he needs a break, he can have one. We know his powers are not going to go out of control any time soon,” Dr. Durado said.

Wilcox smiled. “You don’t have to go over the speech every time Ed volunteers here. We all learned after the first time.”

“Which is the only reason I volunteer here,” Ed muttered. “Anyway, do you guys know what’s been happening with the League?”

Adam shrugged. “We do tech support for them, and make designations, but other than maintain the Zeta Tube system and study anything odd they encounter, we don’t really know what goes on with them.”

“I’ve seen the news, but it is hard to trust what pundits and anchors paid by organizations with agendas have to say,” Dr. Wilcox answered. “Why? See anything odd?”

Eduardo nodded.

“Yeah. Virgil acted really strange, and regained some memories when Tye snapped at him. And he went back to acting odd later, and when we encountered him in Gotham, it was- well,” Ed said, looking to his father for support.

“Tell them everything, Ed.”

Ed nodded. “I think the League and team is being mind controlled.”

Wilcox’s head snapped up. “The evidence?”

Ed went over everything that had happened in the last few weeks, barring important and sensitive information like who all their allies were and where everyone was, and looked at the two scientists for their reactions.

“I thought it was odd that Blue Beetle was said to go on-mode, when all our research on Reach technology shows that it couldn’t be possible. Not to mention that his designation was not deactivated,” Adam said.

Wilcox nodded in agreement. “Your evidence lines up perfectly, and this would not be the first time the League was put under enemy control. However, do you have anyone who can verify your claims?”

“Actually, yes,” said a voice from behind them.

Everyone in the room turned around to look at Wonder Girl in full costume. She held a black wig and oversized coat in her hands.

“How did you get in here?” Ed asked, staring at her.

“Covert ops team, remember?” she said. “And yes, I can confirm Ed’s story. I witnessed Max take control of a room full of super heroes and make them believe that Blue Beetle was on mode.”

“And how did you avoid being mind controlled?” Adam asked.

“Something to do with my powers. So, will you help us?” Cassie asked, holding her hands like she was pleading.

The three scientists looked at each other.

“Well, we do help the League as a job. Might as well help them be saved again,” Wilcox said in a deadpan voice.

 

* * *

 

“Is this everyone?” Doctor Strange said, looking at all the superheroes in STAR Labs.

“No, we have an army of Amazons, waiting for the second we can give them access via zeta tube. Is that possible?” Donna asked.

“One of us will need to go to the Amazonian island to check on the tube and set everything up, but it should be possible,” Doctor Durado said, looking at Adam.

“I volunteer. After all, it shouldn’t be too odd for me to go and do some scheduled maintenance.”

“Except for the fact that you are a male, going to an island where men are discouraged from going,” Nightwing said.

“One of us could go and explain to Queen Hippolyta,” Cassie said.

“But we don’t want Max to know we have zeta access until we make our attack,” Karen said.

“We could bring in Doctor Garret,” Adam said. “She’s an independent researcher, but she should be familiar enough with our work to do it. After all, it’s not like we are building a new zeta tube.”

“We can make it look like we’re doing zeta tube maintenance here, and take off the designation recording or make it look like it’s registering false positives for people going through,” Dr. Durado added.

“Is she trustworthy?” Cassie looked at the scientists all around.

“Ted Kord trusted her,” Peacemaker said. “But she does have her eccentricities.”

 

* * *

 

Linda Park watched as her advisor took a phone call right in front of her. Linda shook her head; Doctor Garret was extremely helpful and informative, but sometimes forgot about other people in the area.

After the call was finished, Doctor Garret smiled and said, “Well Linda, do you want to go with me on a once-in-a-lifetime trip and opportunity?”

“What’s the opportunity?” Linda asked, even as she knew that she would be packing the second she reached her apartment.

“We get to work with zeta tubes! How fast can you pack?”

“Where are we going?” Linda asked, already pulling together supplies and notebooks from her desk, “and how long are we staying?”

“Do not forget the lab cameras,” Dr. Garret said, “the FLIR and the regular one. Maybe the high speed one as well?”

“Dr. Garret.” Linda said, even as she pulled out all three cameras.

“Somewhere in Greece, and I’m staying as long as they let me.”

Despite the vague answer Linda grinned. Zeta tubes were still relatively cutting edge, and if they were being called in it must be an exciting problem. Anything less would not have gotten Dr. Garret’s attention.

“Give me thirty minutes.”

Dr. Garret waved in acknowledgement although she did not look up from her packing the lab. Linda raced to her apartment and threw together clothes. Double packing some essentials just in case.  

True to her word, Dr. Garret came by exactly thirty minutes later. Picked her up and brought her to a hidden Zeta chamber.

“Ted always made sure I knew where these were, just in case,” Dr. Garret said, “I’m glad because Adam is not good at giving directions.”

Linda couldn’t hold back her grin as they stepped onto the platform. She thought that riding Zeta technology would be the highlight of her trip. But when the glow of the beams faded, and she could see where they went, she knew that she was mistaken. When Dr. Garret said somewhere in Greece, she was expecting Athens or somewhere nearby, not the mythical home of the Amazons, Themyscira.

“Welcome, sisters; I assume you two are the scientists from Man’s World?” Queen Hippolyta, herself greeted the women.

Dr. Garret nodded and smiled. “Yep! We’re here to make sure that your zeta tube is in working order so that you can help save the day while I crack open this beauty of a machine and see exactly what-”

“Doctor Garret!” Linda exclaimed.

“Right. Back on focus. Yes, we are, and the second we get the call from Donna or Cassie, we’re sending you into the fight.”

Artemis smiled as she looked at her spear. “I cannot wait.”

 

* * *

 

Jaime looked around from where he was standing on the Zeta-platform and tried to quell the butterflies in his stomach. He looked from Karen, who was triple checking the inhibitor collar, to Arsenal playing with drawing and holstering a gun to Red Arrow who was counting and organizing his arrows.

Jaime’s gaze finally settled on Tye who was pacing near Ed and Asami. Tye was not pleased with the decision that only those with pre-determined designation numbers would be on this mission. Although he did eventually concede that alerting Max by adding people would be in no one’s best interest. Besides Tye could be more effective here than in the relatively small watchtower hallways.

Jason had also opted to not yet reveal his identity, and was thus staying behind with Tye, Ed, Asami, Peacemaker, and Cheshire. Jaime was confident that that group could keep the scientists safe just in case Max decided to do a counter strike. If he figured out that the Amazons were coming, taking out this installation would be one of his top priorities. And Jaime didn’t want anyone else hurt.  

Nightwing clapped his hands, “Let’s run through the plan one more time.”

“Alpha will consist of myself, Bumblebee, Troia, Captain, Lieutenant, and Sergeant Marvel. Our goal will be to find Max and take him out by using Bumblebee’s inhibitor collar. Bumblebee and I will be on search while Troia and the Marvels will be on defence. If either myself or Bumblebee falls to Max it will be your job to make sure that he still gets taken down.”

Nightwing waited for their nods of acceptance before continuing.

“Beta will consist of Red Arrow, Arsenal, Wonder Girl, and Blue Beetle, your goal will be to find whatever Max is using to control the OMACs and destroy it. Red Arrow you will lead Beta, use your knowledge of the watchtower to find that control center. And remember to lay low, no drawing unnecessary attention to yourselves, as we need to take out his army.”

A chorus of understanding and agreements sounded, and the two team stook their position of the Zeta platforms. Jaime found himself standing behind Red Arrow, flanked  on either side by Arsenal and Wonder Girl. As as much as he didn’t want to go back to the watchtower he drew strength from his teammates around him.

 _[We have become well accustomed to Apokoliptic Technology]_ the scarab comforted, _[the Maxwell Lord will not use it to overpower us again.]_

The butterflies faded, leaving only steel behind. He was surrounded by friends.

“Be ready to move as soon as we get there,” Nightwing commanded, “Zeta transport in three, two, one.”

When Nightwing said one gold light overtook Jaime’s vision. Moments later the light faded just long enough for Jaime to catch sight of the watch tower’s Zeta Chamber.

Then the gold light started again.

Even before the light disappeared the second time Jaime was crouched with his sonic cannon drawn. And at the sound of metal hitting tile his head whipped around, but there was no one there.

Jaime felt his stomach drop; he was alone in the watch tower’s Zeta Platform.

The scarab spoke without prompting, _[After the mirrored Zeta beam all outgoing Zeta transport was shut down.]_

“So we’re trapped like a bug in a jar?”

“Really,” he heard Karen speak next to his ear, “I thought you were bigger than bug jokes.”

Jaime let out a short harsh laugh that Karen cut off.

“Grab the collar Blue,” she commanded, “we need to get out of this room.”

“Right, right,” Jaime nodded, turning his head slightly to look at her.

He moved quickly across the room, scooping the inhibitor collar up from where it had come to rest on the tile floor after a shrinking Karen had dropped it.

“So now what?” He asked, again casting a look towards Karen.

“We complete the mission,” Karen said, “we take down Max Lord”


	17. I don't see how this is a party...

“Why aren’t we on the Watchtower?” Red Arrow said as the light of the Zeta Tube faded.

“I- I do not know,” Dr. Durado said, rapidly typing on the keyboard.

“When did the Watchtower get an individualized zeta shield?” Adam asked.

“Probably the same time Max took power,” Nightwing growled.

“So we’re stuck here, completely useless while Jaime and Karen are fighting it alone?” Tye asked, “great.”

_ Recognize Superman- 01.  _

Every head turned towards the glowing zeta tubes.

_ Batman- 02. Flash- 04. Green Lantern- 05.  _

“Shut it down!” Peacemaker roared.

“On it!” Wilcox said, working on his own computer as Adam joined him, Doctor Durado still analyzing the issue with zetaing to the Watchtower.

_ Aquaman- 06. Green Arrow- 08. Black Canary- 13. _

“Make a perimeter,” Wonder Girl ordered, gesturing to the space between the scientists and the zeta tubes, “and push them back.”

Mary responded the quickest. And she ran up to the zeta tube Superman had just come through. She grabbed him around the waist and shouted. 

“ **Shazam!”**

The blast knocked him back, and her first punches were the opening salvo of the fight. 

Nightwing and Peacemaker immediately followed it up, double teaming Batman. And the both Roys stood side by side firing on Green Arrow and Black Canary.

_ Green Lantern- 14. Plastic Man-19. Green Lantern- 24.  _

“It’s not a normal zeta shield, it looks like there are still some designations that can get into the watchtower, but no one can get out,” Dr. Durado yelled over the sounds of battle.

“Anyone we can get on then?” Cassie shouted, blocking a bit of debris from the scientists as Lieutenant Marvel threw Aquaman through a wall. 

_ Zatanna-25. Rocket-26. _

The fight had begun to spill outside STAR Labs, taking large chunks of the wall and assorted structures with it. The heavy hitters needed room to move.

“No one that isn’t already there,” Dr. Durado answered, jumping back as a green construct took out most of his desk.

_ Superboy-B04. Tigress- B07. _

“One zeta tube shut down!” Wilcox exclaimed.

_ Batgirl- B16. Lagoon Boy- B18.  _

“It’s a little late,” Adam shouted, “The last queued heroes are arriving now.”

_ Beast Boy- B19. Robin- B20. _

Guy Gardner’s giant constructed baseball bat slammed both Peacemaker and Red Hood through the last vestiges of STAR labs outer wall.  And Troia and Asami teamed up on John Stewart, attempting to prevent him from being able to get a good shot in on either of them. 

“We have more then we can handle already,” Cassie said before her eyes widened, “But I think I know where we can get reinforcements.”

The scientists ducked as a stray arrow came their way. “We have our desks, and I have my suit from Rann,” Adam said. “What are you thinking?”

“Call Dr. Garrett and Linda Park, tell them to send the Amazons here,” Cassie said. “I’ll keep the zeta tubes clear.”

Dr. Durado nodded, and pulled out his cell phone, ducking as Tye grew to block debris that was raining down.

“Linda, you there?” he all but shouted into the phone, “there’s been a change in the plan, the fight’s been moved to Taos. Yes we are preparing the Zeta as we speak.”

“Wait,” Ed said teleporting next to his father, “send me to the watchtower first. I think I can use my power to get through the shield.”

“You are not going to fight that mad man alone,” Dr. Durado ordered.

Ed rolled his eyes, and Tye shrunk down.

“He won’t be alone,” Tye said catching Cassie’s eye, “I’m not sitting out anymore.”

“They’re right, we have to try,” Cassie said.

She then flung her lasso over John Stewart's right arm and called, “Asami, tag out.”

Asami lept over fallen chunks of ceiling to stand next to Ed as Cassie took her place beside Troia. 

“Get them to the watchtower, then get the Amazons here,” Cassie ordered.

Dr. Durado clasped his son’s arm before sending Ed, Tye, and Asami off in a beam of light. The next instant the Zeta beam was glowing again, reading off the names of Amazonian warriors.

It should have been a happy moment, but that was when the first OMAC appeared in the sky, firing a version Blue Beetle’s plasma cannon towards the labs.

“Protect the Zeta Tubes,” Cassie called, even as more OMACs began to appear, “Protect our backup.”

 

* * *

Jaime crouched, back against the wall of a seldom used watchtower hallway. He had his sonic cannon out, and his eyes constantly scanned the area. Karen, still small, sat on his shoulder. One hand was braced against the scarab’s front leg for support and the other was at her ear.

“Come on, somebody answer,” she hissed to herself in aggravation.

Jaime risked a glance back, “Still nothing from our ground support?”

“It could be nothing,” she attempted to reassure him, “communicator signals could just be blocked by Max.”

“I’m worried, what if something...”

“‘What ifs’ won’t help right now Blue. All we can do is focus on our job, and trust in our friends’ abilities.”

Jaime took a deep breath and nodded, “Right, so where do we start looking?”

“You said when we investigated him before, we found hidden rooms?” she asked.

“Yeah,” Jaime said slowly, trying to ignore the tremor in his hands that the mention of his two week prison caused, “connected to Max’s office.”

_ [Assurances, the Apokoliptic technology will no longer disable us. The Maxwell Lord will not catch us again.] _

Karen spoke at the same time as the scarab, “Right so we go there.”

Jaime gave a quick resolute nod. He followed closely behind Karen who zipped down hallways and around corners. Although Jaime did occasionally skid while trying to keep up with Karen’s more graceful turning.

They were almost to Max’s office when Karen’s comm buzzed. She slowed her speed, eventually giving up her position as point to land on Jaime’s shoulder.

Karen listened to Tye’s rushed explanation of the attack on Taos, the mirrored transport, and more importantly his current position in the Watchtower.

“Our team is back in Taos. They’re fine,” She said, glossing over the attack, “and we’ve got a couple more allies here.”

Jaime nodded, “Should we change our destination?”

Before she could respond, Karen stumbled forward. Jaime had suddenly skidded to a stop, twisting so that she hit the side of his head.

“Hello Jaime, I’m so glad you came back,” Max drawled.

She could not see Max, and Karen realized why she hit the back of Jaime’s head instead of falling off his shoulder. Jaime had turned to keep her out of Max’s view. He didn’t respond to Max’s taunts but he did roll the shoulder Karen was on. She got the message and flew. She used the prongs of the Scarab as cover before quickly darting over Max’s head.

“Don’t be like that,” Max continued, still looking at Jaime, “that Zeta program didn’t kill your little team.”

Max might have been looking at Jaime, but Karen noticed that he wasn’t paying any attention to him. She could see the inhibitor collar held in his far hand. It was opened and ready to be attached. Jaime crouched almost imperceptibly, ready to spring into action.

“They were just designed to send back anyone who could get in the way of my plans,” Max continued, looking up and shrugging.

As soon as Max’s eyes left Jaime, as if to prove that he too could get in the way of Max’s plans, Jaime sprung into action. His jetpack came out instantly, rocketing him towards Max as he brought the inhibitor collar forward. Max didn’t move.

Max didn’t need to move.

Faster than Karen could process a yellow and red blur shot down the hallway and slammed into Blue Beetle. The impact knocked Jaime off course and sent the inhibitor bouncing along the floor. It came to a stop behind Max Lord, directly below Karen.

She moved towards it, ignoring a frantic Tye on the other side of her comms. But she couldn’t pick it up just yet, as Bart was looking directly at Max, and would see her and move to intercept before she even got close to getting it on him.   

“Armor down,” Max commanded, “Or Bart will vibrate through the outer wall of the watchtower.”

Jaime froze.

He whispered, “I know it could be a bluff. And I know we don’t know how much control he actually has, but...”

“But you are still not going to risk it are you?” Max said and seeing the armor begin to recede he continued, “That’s my boy, the world needs more heroes just like you.”

Jaime opened his mouth to respond, but he never got  a chance to say a word. Instead his eyes rolled back and he slumped forward. Bart caught his limp form before he could hit the ground.

“Take him to the OMAC chamber before the sedative wears off,” Max commanded.

Bart nodded and gently lifted Jaime, holding him close. He looked at Max, frowning seriously.

“This will help him right?” Bart asked.

“It is the best that we can do for him.”

It took every ounce of strength for Karen to watch Bart carry Jaime off and not stop them. But as long as Max was around everyone was in danger. So as soon as Bart was out of sight, Karen started growing.

She grabbed the inhibitor collar, and as quickly as she could, moved it towards Max’s neck. However, unlike Bart, she couldn’t move faster than the speed of sound. And Max’s command to ‘freeze’ stopped her cold.

“Damnit,” she cursed.

And before even Max bothered responding Tye’s voice buzzed in her ear,  “ _ What’s going on?”  _

They couldn’t all forget. Not again.

“Where did you have Bart take Jaime?” She asked, knowing that Tye could hear her.

Max ignored her command instead grabbing the collar from her hand.

“And what is this?” He asked, and Karen could feel the pull of the command.

“An inhibitor collar, just for you,” She answered the command before adding, “I don’t suppose you’ll make this easy and put it on?”

Max didn’t bother bantering back, but Karen was alright with that. She just needed to pass as much information to Tye as she could.

“Did you build it?” He commanded again.

“Yes.”

“Good, so tell me how you would recommend keeping me safe from it?”

“Static,” She found herself answering, “Virgil’s power could completely destroy the internal workings, with no possibility of salvage.”

“And he’s still up here,” Max said smiling, leaning towards Karen. 

He stopped an inch from her face, the freeze command kept her from pulling away. And with his smile still firmly in place he reached out and grabbed the comm from her ear.

“Now I’ve blocked all radio signals but mine from leaving the Watchtower,” He said dropping the device to the floor, “But still you’ve been annoyingly clever and I don’t want you figuring out a way to call for help.”

With that he stomped the comm under the heel of his foot and commanded Karen, 

“ Follow me.”


	18. Static is Back

Asami watched the hallway outside of the Zeta chamber while Tye talked with Karen on their comm and Ed worked on of the watchtower’s computer terminals. She had been the unofficial lookout of their group ever since she was the only one to see Wilcox’s men surround them when running from S.T.A.R. labs.

She only moved her eyes, scanning the hallways that lead to their location. She also focused on every sound trying to cancel out Tye’s muttering and the click of the keys at Ed’s fingertips so that she could make out the sound of approaching footsteps.

She was so focused that she jumped when Tye shouted at her back.

“What’s going on?” 

Both she and Ed turned to face him. Tye’s lips were pressed into a thin line and he was glaring at his hand.

“Dude what...” Ed started, but Tye held up a hand and silenced him.

The seconds ticked by in silence as Tye held his hand to his ear, focusing solely on a conversation that they were not a part of.

Then he broke the silence with a curse.

“Max has Jaime, again,” he said in a harsh whisper, “and Karen and the collar.”

“Isn’t that a good thing though?” Ed asked, and when Tye glared at him he hastily added, “Not Jaime being captured, but Max having the collar. Those things are next to impossible to destroy. So one less thing to bring together to stop him.”

“Virgil could,” Tye pointed out darkly, “Karen said his power could completely destroy it.”

“But Virgil’s not here, and even if he was he’d be at the big battle now,” Ed said, “So we’ve got time.”

“Do we?” Asami asked, “would Max remain without protection?”

Ed cursed and turned back to the computer. A second later he looked up.

“So I might not have been able to override Max’s Zeta and communications shielding, but I did find Virgil.” 

With that he grabbed both Tye and Asami, filling their vision with a brilliant yellow light and leaving a map blinking on the terminal. It took three teleportation jumps, down hallway and up balconies until the group was outside of a nondescript door.

Tye looked at Ed, “You sure?”

“ _ Absolutamente. _ ”

Tye nodded and banged on the door. The three of them held their collective breath until it slid open.

Virgil stood on the other side. His head was tilted to the side but he was smiling. And that was all the invitation that they needed before barging into his room and shutting the door behind them.

“Uh, guys?” He started, but Tye cut him off, skipping over pleasantries.

“Have you seen Max today?”

“Huh,” Virgil responded, stepping backward over a history book lying open and face down on the floor to sit on his unmade bed, “No. No I haven’t. What’s this about?”

“Max is coming. He’s going to ask you to destroy an inhibitor collar, but if you do, we lose,” Tye said looking Virgil in the eye.

“Lose what?” Virgil pressed, “Who’s the collar for anyway?”

Ed glanced at the door, “we don’t have time to make him remember again. The collar’s for Max and you can’t destroy it.”

“Max?” Virgil questioned, “He’s a good guy, and besides has no powers to turn off.”

Virgil then pulled back from the group, “The only thing it could do would be shock him. You guys aren’t really going to shock our PR man?”

Asami felt her stomach drop. Over Virgil’s voice she could hear footsteps. One pair, slow and confident. She was sure of who they belonged to.

“After the Reach we promised,” she said, leaning towards Virgil and gesturing towards everyone in their little group, “we promised there would be no more kidnapping, no more control, no more experimentation, no more unwanted power.”

Virgil blinked and frowned. 

“Yeah I know,” he said softly.

“This is why we must stop Max. In any way possible,” Asami continued, speaking low but forcefully, “the inhibitor collar is better. But to stop anyone else from going through what we did. Killing him is also okay.”

Virgil jerked back and brought his hands to his head. Before any of them could make sure that he had remembered a knock resounded through the room.

Asami and Tye ducked into Virgil’s closet, closing the door, and Ed dove under Virgil’s bed.

Virgil stood slowly, knocking the blankets so that they fell, completely obscuring Ed from view. He then walked over to the door and slid it open, revealing a smiling Max on the other side.

“Static,” he said blood dribbling from his nose, “I need you to do me a favor. I need you to protect me.”

“Of course,” Virgil answered with a nod.

“Good boy,” Max responded smiling wide, pulling out a inhibitor collar from his jacket “this was made by some anti-justice league rebels and...”

“And you need me to protect you from them,” Virgil said quickly, reaching towards the collar.

“Exactly.”

Virgil grabbed the collar from Max’s hand. Once Max was no longer holding the device, sparks ran over the surface, and a thin line of dark electrical smoke trickled from one of the components within it.

“Done,” Virgil said with a grin, “You can try it on to test if you want.”

Max waved his hand, “no need, you can keep it. One of those souvenirs that Beast Boy always talks about.”

With that, Max stepped out of the room and the door slid shut. Tense seconds ticked by before Tye cautiously opened the closet door, and looked at the collar. 

“Dude, you didn’t actually trash it, did you?”

“Black Lightning has taught me a lot of things,” Virgil said with a shrug, “Like how to make things spark and burn non essential wiring to make it look like a device has been destroyed. Without you know, actually breaking it.”

“Which non essential wiring did you burn?” Ed asked, pulling himself from under the bed.

“The control shock,” Virgil said shrugging, “for all I know Max is an ordinary human, so that’s the only thing here that could affect him. Besides if I destroyed the rest of it, you all would have to kill him.”

Tye grinned, “And you wouldn’t be protecting him very well if that happened.”

Virgil nodded back, “Exactly. So fill me in. I, I remember texting you, and Max lying about Blue Beetle being on mode, but other then that...”

“So the long version or the short?”

“Short,” Virgil said glancing towards the door, “something tells me we need to stop this fast.”

 

* * *

Jason spun, flinging smoke bombs at Superboy. He knew it wouldn’t stop Conner long, but any second he was delayed was another second that Jaime and Karen had to stop this.

He just had to last that long.

Before Superboy could recover, a giant green baseball glove enveloped Jason and knocked him across the battlefield.

And not for the first time Jason reached towards his belt and the grenades stored there. But as with all the previous times he moved his hand away and instead focused on flipping out of the way of the incoming green baseball bat.

He watched Guy’s ring carefully, but the next attack came from behind. An OMAC slammed into him, grabbing him in a headlock and pulling him high into the air.

Jason didn’t want to use an explosive, he knew that there was an innocent person inside the armor. But the darkness creeping in from the edge of his vision was making him reconsider.

Then, just as suddenly as he was grabbed the OMAC let him go. 

By the time he had thought to worry about falling from that height he had already hit something solid. It wasn’t ground though, but the back of a second flying OMAC.

Jason had a second to orient himself, and catch his breath, before that OMAC jerked a shoulder back to point a plasma cannon at his face.

Jason jumped, and hit the now much closer ground with a roll. 

He landed at Wonder Girl’s feet as she deflected the incoming shot away from him, the remaining scientists, and the Zeta tubes. The roof of the lab had been long since demolished.

At the deflected blast the OMAC moved on and Wonder Girl used the lull to fly straight up.

“Phillipus enemies are amassing south of your position!” She shouted, voice ringing across the chaos of combat, “Roy more enemies flying in from the east, shoot them down!”

“There’s more than one Roy,” Jason commented when she landed.

“I need more than one shooter,” she countered, taking a breath and then adding, “can you watch Zeta chamber? I think Cap’s trying to get my attention.”

Jason noded, “Sure, are there more allies coming through?”

“No, but holding this spot keeps them from attacking us from behind, also since we’re cut off from the invisible jet, it’s our only ‘tactical retreat’ option,” Cassie said and then her eyes went wide, “we need to get you added to the system, not that I don’t trust Blue and Bee, but...”

Jason waved her off and ran into position, “don’t waste the time, but do you have a clue how Pom-poms got past Max’s shield.”

“Same reason Ed got his friends on,” Cassie said as she floated into the air, “Max listed people to block not people to let on, and they were hidden in the system.”

“Oh,” Jason said slowly, an idea becoming clear to him, “I see.”

However Cassie was already gone, before he could implement it. And he wasn’t about to screw up the ground fight. Not yet at least.

Still while guarding the Zeta tubes the battlefield he began to notice the shadows. At first he thought that it was high moving clouds giving them relief from the New Mexican sun. But where he looked up he realized they was not that lucky. 

The morning sun was blotted out by the sheer mass of OMACs moving in from the East. And that wasn’t the only direction buzzing with OMACs, they seemed to be coming from everywhere. Way more than had converged on their group in Fawcett.

This didn’t feel good. And not just for the soon to be drastically outnumbered fighters on the ground.

He desperately wanted to try his plan. But now there was also far more risk to losing the group’s one retreat point.

Flying low and fast, Cassie’s arrival back at the Zeta tubes meant that he didn’t have to worry about making that choice for long.

“Good news and bad news,” she said, skidding to a stop and gasping for breath.

“Good news, I need some,” Jason replied, not taking his eyes off the sky.

“Captain Marvel got through to Zee,” she said, standing up and shifting into a defensive posture, “Something about Dr. Fate and her dad? Anyway that blue armor hasn’t adjusted yet to her magic, and she’s started freeing the hosts.”

“Great,” Jason said, mimicking her shift in posture, “I take it the bad news is the people she frees won’t make a dent compared to the new ones coming.”

Cassie looked and him then looked towards the sky, “No...but that’s not the bad news.”

“So what is it?”

“Batman’s coming.”

Jason looked at her, “That’s something you start with.”

She shrugged, “I like to be optimistic, also Nightwing’s trying to stop him.”

“Right, so Tiny Wonder you mind if I run?”

She spun to look at him, “Run, you? And why ask me?”

“Because you’re leading this ground mission and I don’t want it to fail,” he said, stepping back and onto the Zeta platform, “Wait till I give the signal, then Zeta me to the Watchtower.”

“What’s the signal,” she asked, flying over to the Zeta controls.

“You’ll know it when you hear it.”

Cassie rolled her eyes, but her reply was cut short by Nightwing’s voice drifting over the din of combat.

“I can’t let you do this.”

They both looked towards him. And Nightwing was standing protectively between the Zeta tubes and Batman, Robin, and Batgirl. He was fighting the three of them attempting to hold them back. But he was outnumbered, and slowly but surely losing ground. 

Cassie glanced at him worried, and Jason held his hand up. Not yet.

So Cassie waited and the four combatants got closer and closer to the Zeta tubes. And once Jason felt that they were well within earshot he shouted.

“Hey Bats, you gonna be fast enough this time?”

Batman sprung towards him, eyes narrowed, and he saw Nightwing pivot to shoot him a confused glance. But he didn’t have long to look, as Cassie got his signal.

_ Recognize Robin B-13. _

As the bright yellow light of the Zeta beam enveloped him, Jason believed that he saw Bruce Wayne stumble and stop. But the scene was gone too fast for him to be sure.

And the next thing that he saw was the gray of the Watchtower.

He carefully stepped off of the Zeta platform and made his way to the one computer terminal in the room that was blinking. 

It was a map. He could work with a map.

Jason memorized the layout that he could see and then got rid of the map on the terminal. He then left the Zeta chamber.

However he had not traveled more than a couple of feet down the hallway before he was body slammed from behind.

Jason managed to turn his forward fall into a roll. He stopped moving in a crouch, a knife in hand. And saw Bart standing in front of him glaring.

“ You,” Kid Flash said in an angry hiss, “you did this to Blue. I swear, I won’t let you get away with moding him.”


	19. Freedom

“Mal look at me.”

Mal didn’t look up. He didn’t seem to notice that Karen had spoken at all.

“Oh Mal...” Karen spoke again, and again Mal didn’t move.

Karen took a deep breath, clenched her hands into fists and began to walk in slow circles around him.

“I know you can’t respond. I know Max’s first order is making you ignore me.”

Her footsteps were the only sound in the room. And she continued to walk. Mal still unmoving.

He stayed, as still as a statue until she was almost at the edge of the room. The door was still too far away for her to reach out and touch, but Mal slid his chair back suddenly and stood.

Karen angled back in towards Mal and away from the door. 

Mal sat back down.

“And his second order, it’ll keep you from letting me leave the room.”

She reached out and touched his cheek.

“But I’m not going to run from you, babe. And I won’t fight you either. Max knows that.”

She turned away, her hand still on his shoulder.

“That’s what he’s counting on to keep me in line. But Mal, you know me, there is not a man alive that can tell me what to do.”

She turned back towards Mal, leaning forward and looking him in the eye.

“See I’ve got a plan. Because Max doesn’t know you like I know you. And he messed up with his last command.”

Karen kissed Mal on the cheek.

“Squash me if I shrink,” she quoted, “he doesn’t realize what you are. A protector. A guardian.”

She turned away again and ran her hand through her hair.

“The only reason that I’m telling you this. Is if...” 

She stopped, pursed her lips and then started talking again.

“If I miscalculated how long it takes for ‘emotional whiplash’ to return control. I want you to know that that is only Max’s fault. Not yours. Never yours.”

“I love you Mal,” She said bumping her forehead against his, “And I’m going to shrink now.”

With that said she took a step back, looked Mal directly in the eye and began to shrink. She didn’t stop as the floor rushed up towards her and Mal moved to be directly above her. She didn’t stop as the shadow loomed.

And the shadow of his hand did loom, covering her completely.

But it never fell. And his hand moved aside.

“I love you too, Beautiful.”

 

* * *

Cassie stared at the spot that Red Hood or rather Robin, the previous, dead Robin, had disappeared from. Her plan had been to Zeta him up and then rush forward to help Nightwing defend the Zeta tubes, but that was before the long disused designation sounded.

Not that Nightwing needed her aid anymore. He was too busy looking at the Zeta platform. 

And neither Batman, Robin or Batgirl were trying to gain ground. Instead they were holding their heads and watching the exact same spot.

It was Batman who gained his voice first, “Zeta me up.”

“No,” Cassie said firmly arms crossed and feet planted, “I can’t do that.”

“I’m not,” Batman started.

“I figured,” Cassie cut him off. Seeing the warriors and heroes under her command losing ground to the blue armor army and still controlled heroes helped her to channel her mentor, “but we need you on the ground more. It does no good to get you back just to lose you to Max’s control again.”

Batman glanced behind him, and looked as if that was the first time he had seen the ongoing fight. When he looked back at Cassie his eyes were narrowed.

“What do we need to do?”

“Guard this location,” she answered firmly, “And Zeta the civilians that Zee rescues to safety.”

“Also don’t engage any of the remaining heroes,” Nightwing added looking at Batman and shouting over the clang of OMAC and Amazonian weapons, “Once we stop Max’s blue armor army, then a surrender will stop the fighting. As long as you can still keep the rest of the Justice League off of the Watchtower.”

But Cassie couldn’t help but think as OMACs pushed their way towards the Zeta chamber, using his distraction to send Nightwing flying into another's waiting fist, that perhaps he was being just a tad too optimistic. 

 

* * *

Bart slid, shoes squeaking and Hood’s knife clattering down the hall. Bart’s fingers brushed the floor but he never once deviated his narrowed glare from Red Hood. 

So when Hood moved his hand towards one of his many pockets, Bart was on him again.

Shoulder contacted chest, and Hood was knocked back several feet with a grunt.

Red Hood shook his head and reached back. He moved backwards slowly, and Bart circled him, just waiting for Hood to attempt another attack. 

But he didn’t. Instead he kept moving backwards until his hand hit the hallway wall. And then he slid along the hallway before hitting a door and falling backwards through it.

Bart was at the door frame instantly. He was not letting the villain who helped imprison Jaime in his own mind get away. At least not until Jaime could be freed, and after that only if intergalactic peace treaties demanded his release.

Red Hood was backlit by Earth shine streaming in through the room’s windows. He was standing tall, shoulders squared, and head tilted to one side.

“You know” Red Hood said from behind the helmet, and Bart could hear the smirk in his voice, “Jaime considers me to be his mentor.”

Bart saw red. And he sprinted forward.

But this time it was Hood’s knee that caught Bart in the abdomen. 

The impact knocked the wind out of Bart and he wrapped both arms around his stomach. But before he could double over, Hood had grabbed him by the back of the neck and slammed him against one of the room’s windows.

“Outer wall” Hood said pointedly, “so no vibrating away.”

Bart pushed hard against Red Hood, but all the force he could muster didn’t seem to affect Hood. He was fast, but not strong like Wally had been. And Red Hood’s hold seemed tailor made easily preventing Bart from utilizing his speed any way other than vibrating. 

And he didn’t really fancy talking a walk without a spacesuit. That’s how the scarab had gotten Jaime out of the way, and Bart wasn’t about to allow it to have a second victory in the same way.

He just had to find a way to get away.

And the pellet that Red Hood was holding was about to make escape a whole lot harder. He recognized it from Robin’s utility belt, knockout gas.

Hood squeezed the capsule between his fingers, and Bart heard the room’s door slam closed and a familiar voice shout “Wait.”

Red Hood loosened his grip to look back towards Tye. And Bart took the distraction to sprint out of his grip and towards the watchtower hallway. But Tye stood firm in front of the closed door, flanked by Ed and Asami. Virgil was behind them, his hand against the wall, sparking.

Bart angled past the group towards the wall, beginning to vibrate “we need to move, go, go...”

The millisecond Bart’s hand touched the wall he knew something was wrong. The electric shock sent him careening backwards and onto his back in the middle of the room.

He slowly rolled, and pushed himself back up, glaring at Virgil.

“What was that for?”

“Sorry dude,” Virgil said sounding apologetic, “We can’t let you run away.”

“Then you should have let me knock him out,” Red Hood growled, “The new flash brat is very good at running away.”

“ I don’t run  _ away _ ,” Bart argued softly, running to get help was not the same thing.

“Max made him take Jaime somewhere,” Tye said speaking over Bart, “we need to find where that is.”

“Of course I did,” Bart said forcing the room’s attention back towards him, “I took him so that Max could get him off mode.”

“And then what? You just abandoned him?” Tye countered, glaring at Bart. 

“I didn’t abandon him,” Bart protested, “Max can help him.”

“No,” Tye said, clenching his fists as he raised his voice, “you just dumped him and ran away.”

“ I did not run away,” Bart said quickly, he could feel his heart rate rise, “I do  _ not _ run  _ away _ .”

Tye glanced past him and raised his brow. Bart didn’t have time to figure out what that look meant before Red Hood spoke up nonchalantly behind him. 

“Just like you didn’t run away from the future?” 

Bart turned on Red Hood. He could still remember Neutron’s last look before he went back. “There was no choice”

Hood just shrugged in response, “And I suppose you didn’t have a choice but to keep running while Wally ceased?”

“I...” Bart grasped for an answers, because he could still hear his Grandfather saying they needed to slow down. He could still remember looking right through the hero who, in his time, helped lead the resistance to the Reach after the team was taken down. He could still...

“And now,” Red Hood said, cutting into his thoughts, “when your friend needs you the most, you just run away.”

“I trust Max,” Bart answered softly, voice wavering, “the team, the league trusts Max. He’s not going to hurt Jaime.”

“You, the League and the team trusted Green Beetle too.” Red Hood said leaning towards Bart, “You know, right before he betrayed Jaime to the Reach, trapping him in his own mind.”

“No,” Bart shook his head, “this is different, it’s different.”

But Bart remembered Green Beetle standing over Jaime, his hand’s hooked into the scarab on Jaime’s back. Corrupting it. Controlling them. 

Except now remembering it, Jaime was no longer outside wearing his armor. But rather inside a small gray room covered in computers wearing only blue jeans and sneakers.

And now it was no longer Green Beetle’s hands connected to the scarab, but wires. And it was Bart’s own hands manipulating the wires.

The computer terminals blinked with the words  _ extended OMAC protocol activated. _ And as Bart walked away he could hear Jaime crying out “no.”

Even the door slamming shut didn’t block out the cries. 

Except, Bart realized, it was no longer Jaime’s voice but his own.

Bart was on his knees,  head in his hands, repeating the word ‘no’, over and over. Because he had just left Jaime, not Blue Beetle, not the scarab, not the Reach, Jaime. Abandoned him.

“So...” Ed’s voice broke through Bart’s thought’s “you think he’s good now?”

“I’m not good,” Bart whispered, “I just I...”

“Yup,” Red Hood answered sounding far too happy for Bart’s taste, “he’s good now.”

“But...” 

“Dude,” Tye said softly, “you didn’t let anyone down.”

“Easy for you to say,” Bart answered sharply, “you can actually tell when he’s moded.”

Virgil shrugged, “Admittedly, not being under mind control makes that easier.” 

Bart stood up, “Mind control?”

“The League’s new PR guy,” Red Hood said easily, “Now controls the League and the team for his own whims.”

“Well most of them,” Virgil cut in.

Asami cut in from the door looking straight at Bart, “We’ve stood still for too long. Please say you know where Max is? Or Jaime?”

Bart pushed his lips into a thin line, “I have no clue where Max is, but I know exactly where Jaime is.”


	20. Let Me Off This Ride

He watched. He readied a punch...through the air... gun drawn... dodge to the left... arrow in front...only fire.... people fleeing... pursuit... at the dirt and rocks on.... man dressed like a ... run... woman with her hand raised mouth open....

Each scene seemed to last milliseconds, spinning into the next, like attempting to make sense of the world while spinning in a tea-cup ride. It was overwhelming, and there was a part of him that just wanted to close his eyes.

But he couldn’t. As that was Nightwing he had just sent flying. Peacemaker was taking cover from him behind a desk. Troia flipped him over her shoulder. And his plasma gun, charged to lethal capacity was pressed against Arsenal’s nose.

Before the vision faded he jerked his arm with all his might. And behind Batgirl he could see Arsenal leap up after the blast and punch him in the jaw.

He didn’t feel it. But with that impact he heard something over the overlapping cacophony of buzzing and battle.

_ [Jaime Reyes.] _

That was his name. With the still spinning images Jaime couldn’t get himself to feel worried at how surprised that revelation made him feel.

He pushed again, and the tip of his sword went into a building instead of an Amazonian’s skull.

“Scarab,” he called, or at least he thought about calling. He could not hear his own voice or even feel his own body move to make that sound.

He watched the net approach him and forced himself not to move. Captured he fell to the ground.

_ [I am here, Jaime Reyes, hold on.] _

The spinning slowed, but that was not much of a relief as now there was more to do. He saw Wonder Girl fly overhead, burdened by civilians. He lowered his gun and turned away. He spun again, same scene different angle. Again he turned away.

“Slow it more,” he called, hoping that his scarab would be able to understand his silent words.

_ [That risks violation of your parameters.] _

He struggled to focus on what exactly his parameters were. But he was distracted by pulling a sword away from Robin’s throat, and shifting a plasma blast aimed at Cheshire so that it melted a portion of the floor instead.

_ [The Maxwell Lord’s device prevents me from stopping them.] _

The scene spun, multiple hims held Sergeant Marvel tightly as he sped head first into the ground. Jaime shifted his grip and angle, so that they landed on his back instead of her neck.

“But I can,” he called, “scarab, no one dies.”

The scene spun again and he was pressing himself through the weight of a mob against Captain Marvel. He dug his feet in and pulled back his sword.

_ [Understood] _

He pulled his gun away from Batman’s head and pointed it straight up. The scene spun before Batman’s punch landed.

His hand squeezed Peacemaker’s neck even as the man fired at him. He released his grip and then tried to pull back. But his hand and arm were held firm against metal.

He stared at a metal ceiling, looking blankly past a face framed by long black hair that should really be familiar. He tried to pull back stop whatever attack he was preparing, but this shift was different. It left him feeling weak, nauseated, and unable to move.

He pulled against the restraints again and felt a hand press against his head. That was different.

“Scarab,” he called the sound of his own voice startling him into silence.

“Your scarab’s not out yet,” another far too familiar voice answered, “but don’t worry we’ll get him out soon just a few more...”

“No,” he cried out, frantically pulling against his restraints, “Put me back. They’ll die. They’ll die, and it’ll be my fault. Please put me back.”

He dropped Peacemaker, who landed on his feet gasping. He couldn’t stop the blast he launched, but the scene shifted and he was able to get in front of it. His sword had hit skin, but he stopped it, dissolving it before he could do serious damage. A metal hand creaked under his grip and he let go.

“Khaji Da,” He shouted internally struggling to focus, “Armor down.”

He jerked his weapon down, he reversed his sword, he backed up, he raised his arms in surrender. He landed. He landed himself hundreds of times.

The spinning slowed as one by one each scene turned to black.

When he was only left with darkness the scarab spoke quietly.

_ [Every connected OMAC virus has been permanently disabled, every OMAC host has been freed. You can open your eyes now Jaime Reyes.] _

Jaime opened his eyes, his head was pounding and he was sure that there was a beeping sound coming from somewhere. Still, looking at Tye standing over him, Jaime wasn’t worried about himself.

“You need to run,” he whispered, exhausted, “it’s not going to take Max long to figure out his OMACs are gone.”

“You really think I’m going to leave you?” Tye asked, gently helping Jaime sit up.

Jaime scrunched his eyes closed as he moved and whispered, “it was worth a shot.”

Tye let out a frustrated sigh and Jaime felt fingers move over his back, disconnecting wires at a speed unbelievable to anyone except a speedster.

Once he was totally free, Jaime opened his eyes again. He saw Bart standing next to Tye, looking concerned. Virgil was frying various computer systems around the room. Ed and Asami were keeping watch. And Jason was canvassing the room placing fist size black objects at strategic points.

Jaime didn’t need the scarab to tell him that they were bombs. Jason turned back towards Jaime and unapologetically caught his eye.

“You said it, Max will be back here soon,” he said sternly, “and if we can’t stop him your way, we stop him mine.”

 

* * *

They say that it is always darkest before the dawn. And now Cassie believed it.

When the OMACs were fighting along side the controlled heroes Cassie thought that was bad. When endless reinforcement arrived that was worse. But the worst by far was when the OMACs seemed to drop all their inhibitions. For the first time in the fight blades regularity tasted flesh, and plasma cannons disintegrated instead of singed. Her allies were wounded and Cassie herself had a long cut from shoulder to elbow from where one had managed to get behind her. And it was only their astounding lack of aim and coordination that prevented anyone from dying.

But now that was over.

One at a time, each and every OMAC raised their hands in surrender. One at a time they landed. And one at a time the armor faded and a freed Civilian collapsed.

The Amazonians raced forward to help them and Cassie started as well. But at this movement Batman held up his hand.

“Even if Max is gone, they are still under his control, right?”

“Right.” Cassie agreed, pulling back, “We'll play the villain a little longer. But perhaps my sisters don't have to.”

Batman nodded at her once, and with a wave sent Robin and Batgirl to guard her and Nightwing.

“With the help of our Amazonian allies this battle has been won,” Batman said, his voice carrying over the battlefield quelling the remaining fighting.

Cassie looked past him to her allies. She nodded solemnly at each one. And even if she had to stare at Arsenal a little longer than the rest, each eventually surrendered to the heroes around them. She also locked eyes with her sisters and grinned. And when Queen Hippolyta saw, she moved forward to speak.

“In matters such as these it would be unwise not to lend aid,” she said firmly, “Additionally my daughter will want to have words with Cassandra once she returns. To aid in that we will take Cassandra and her co conspirators back with us. We have a special place set aside for the likes of them.”

Cassie had to keep herself from grinning. Because she could read between the lines. The only words Wonder Woman had for her would be good. And the place set aside was an island off of Themyscira that they could all use as a sanctuary.

But it was not to be, for Superman glided down in front of the remaining Zeta Tubes and crossed his arms.

“Absolutely not,” he said, “above all, they are traitors to the Justice League. And they should be held on the Watchtower.” 

The Queen stared him down, and he returned the look. Neither budged until Batman spoke again.

“Any Zeta transport right now is not a good idea,” he said, looking at Superman, “the rebels took control of the Zeta chambers from the S.T.A.R. Scientists. We do not yet know what hidden traps they could have placed in the system.”

Superman nodded and backed down.

As the silent standoff drew on, Cassie found herself glancing at the Zeta Tubes again and again. But it was not the arrival of allies that broke it, but rather Superman jumping, hand to his ear.

“I have to go to the Watchtower now,” he said in a clipped tone that left no room for argument.

That is for anyone except Batman.

“Not until we triple check the Zeta system.”

But Superman just bushed past him and input coordinates, “this cannot wait.”

Batman put a hand on Superman's, “then you will not take this risk alone.”

Superman nodded once and Batman turned back to the rest of the heroes.

“Zatanna, Batgirl you are in charge until we get back,” He said not lingering long enough to allow anyone to argue, “and Queen Hippolyta, if our trial is successful, you should return to your island.”

Cassie caught the Queen's eye and nodded. She should lead her sisters home. For if their plan failed they needed to make sure that there was still some resistance to Max Lord.

 

* * *

Maxwell Lord hurried down the hallways of the watchtower. He used the spacing of closed doors, and the occasional air vent as landmarks to help him navigate through the otherwise featureless hallways.

As soon as he was alerted that there was something was wrong in his OMAC chamber, he called Superman back from the fight. It always paid to have backup on its way since he was not one hundred percent sure that this was not just a glitch. Sure Atom had said it had been designed to be inescapable from the inside. But superheroes were not known for being humble about their abilities. And he couldn't lose Jaime again, not when they were about to accomplish so much.

“Max, what’s going on? I heard the alarm,” Virgil said, jogging towards him.

“Just remember to protect me from Blue Beetle and his allies!” Max said, barely paying attention to the line of blood under his nose.

He pushed his way past Virgil and continued towards the OMAC control center room. The door offered no resistance when he swung it open. And he found himself staring down the barrel of a shotgun held by the Red Hood.

And before Max could command him to drop it he heard a click and felt cold metal around his neck.

His hand went to the collar at his neck as he shouted “Virgil, get this off! You must protect me.”

“But I am protecting you,” Virgil said from his position behind Max, “If you can’t use your powers, then nobody in that room can justify killing you.”

Virgil grinned. He forced Max’s arms behind his back, and pulled him away from the OMAC chamber door.

“And for your safety, you’re going to be locked away from anyone who might be really mad at you,” Virgil taunted before turning his attention back towards the door, “Any idea where the League’s holding cells are?”

In a flash of yellow light, Ed teleported from inside the OMAC chamber to stand next to Virgil.

“I don’t know where it is, but if we get a room with a computer terminal I can find out,” he said.

Virgil nodded and Ed moved down the hallway opening doors. Bart quickly followed and helped in the search.

Jaime, supported by Tye and Asami were the last people to leave the OMAC chamber. The three of them moved slowly but that didn’t stop Tye from glaring at the handcuffed Max.

“So I don’t get to beat up someone who attacked, tortured, and tried to use Jaime in their evil plans?” Tye said, groaning. “Next time, I deserve to get at least one hit in.”

Asami patted his shoulder sympathetically, and Tye smiled at her.

“ I’m really hoping that there isn’t a next time,  _ hermano _ ,” Jaime said, chuckling.

Max laughed, his voice ringing off of the room’s walls. The entire team looked at him.

“What makes you think this time is over?” He asked.

“Because we got you?” Bart said blurring to stand in front of Max and poke his chest, “We collared you, turned off your OMACs and won.”

“But Superman is on his way,” Max said twisting to look at Jaime, “what do you think he'll think when he comes down this hall and sees a civilian and his friend taken hostage by a Reach warrior and a mass murderer?”

“You can’t control him anymore,” Bart argued back smirking.

Jaime didn’t smile, instead he spoke darkly, “But previous commands, they will still be active.”

“At least one of you is paying attention,” Max said still grinning at Jaime, “Superman is the very embodiment of the God-like hero, whose fights destroy the lives of bystanders. So obviously I’ve been exerting my control on him for the longest time. And Jaime you and I both know that you won’t be able to stop him without loss of life.”

“Are you absolutely sure about that dude,” Tye growled, “cause it seems to me that Jaime’s way stronger than you think he is.”

“And I don’t know about you but we all have seen the scarab in action,” Virgil continued with a grin, “even if Jaime is exhausted there is no way it will let you win.”

Max raised an eyebrow, “So Kid Flash must be an acceptable loss then? If Jaime calls his armor Bart will take a little run into space.”

“That’s a risk I’m willing to take,” Bart cut in flatly.

“And the rest of you?” Max argued, “I don’t think any of you will fare so well if Beetle gets thrown through the hull.”

Virgil looked from Asami to Tye, from Ed to Jaime to Red Hood. Jaime was the only one who did not meet his gaze evenly and calmly, opting instead to turn away.

“That’s a risk that we are all willing to take,” Virgil finally said.

“It’s not your choice,” Max said, his sneer was quickly covered by an expression of fake concern as he turned to the only one who was showing unease, “Jaime I want to help you, let me out and I can guarantee that Superman won’t hurt, accidentally or otherwise, you or anyone else here.”

Bart took a step in front of Jaime, blocking him from Max’s view, “but emotional whiplash works against your control, having Superman kill...”

“On accident, trying to save a hostage...” Max replied with a smile, “It’ll grieve him sure, but...”

Red Hood brought his gun up in a smooth motion and pointed it at Max’s head, “then how about we make sure this it no longer a hostage situation.”

Before Red Hood had finished his sentence, Virgil found himself moving against his will. With a curse he found himself directly between the barrel of Hood’s gun and Max’s head.

“ Like you said, my orders are still active,” Max laughed, “Jaime think about it, I’m sure you’ll understand you don’t have any other option. Oh but you do need to think fast, because Superman will be here any second.”


	21. Superman

_ Beep Beep Beep ... Beep Beep Beep _

Mal looked up from his computer terminal, “Please tell me that sound’s not for us.”

Karen shrugged not moving her eyes from her own screen, “Does it change what we have to do if it is?”

“No,” Mal said glancing at their barricade blocking anyone else from entering the Zeta chamber before refocusing on his screen, “it doesn’t.”

With that the only noise in the Zeta chamber was that same beeping, and the tapping of keys. Or at least the keys under Mal’s fingers. Karen just watched as the same error message scrolled across her screen. No matter what she did, she couldn’t get it to go away and that made her think Max did something to the hardware.

Karen leaned backwards and groaned, they weren’t in any position to fix communication hardware.

“What’s wrong, beautiful?”

Karen pinched the bridge of her nose, “I've sent communications to Mars telling them of the current situation, but our receivers, I can’t get them to work.”

“Guess Mr. Lord didn’t want anyone stumbling into a call from the Mars team,” Mal said, deflating, “Which means we won’t know when to lower the Zeta shield.”

Karen turned towards him, beaming, “You got access?”

“Yeah, to both Max’s shield and Earth’s shield,” he said not quite returning her smile, “but do you want to risk the Kroloteans knocking at our door again.”

“I’m way more worried about the threat Max poses than any ‘maybe’ from space.”

“Ok,” Mal said with a grim smile, “you tell the Mars team and I’ll take down the Zeta shield.”

Karen typed for a second and then said, “Sent.”

“All Zeta shields are down,” Mal said with a single click, “let’s hope we have some good luck with who comes through.”

Karen nodded and turned towards the Zeta tubes. Her lips were pressed into a tight line, and her thumb ran over her fingers, back and forth.

The Zeta chamber glowed with a golden light, and she froze. She was ready to shrink at a moment's notice, to fight if needed.

_ Recognize Superman 01 _

_ Recognize Batman 02 _

Karen and Mal exchanged a look. It was not a good one. Karen shrunk quickly, and Mal readjusted to look like he belonged there.

Not that either of the two heroes noticed. Superman’s gaze was far past the room and Batman was focused on getting his attention.

“We need to search slowly and carefully we don’t know what…” Batman started.

“No” Superman cut him off, his muscles tensing more each second he waited in the room, “we have to go now. Max needs our help.”

“Batman’s right,” Mal spoke quickly, he had bluffed Despero and he hoped he could do the same to a mind controlled Superman, “the entire Watchtower has been destabilized. One wrong hit could depressurize the entire station, and civilians are not generally known to survive in space.”

Superman turned his gaze towards Mal. Nodded once and then sped off through the hallways of the Watchtower. Batman ran after him.

In the distance Mal could hear him call for Superman to wait. Although instead of calling out the name Superman it was instead something that started with a ‘Cla’.

“Do you think that will work?” Karen asked from his shoulder.

“Not really,” Mal said turning back towards the terminal, “but it might just give us some time.”

 

* * *

“Superman! Help! They're going to kill me!”

Max's screams reverberated through the metal hallways of the watchtower. Jaime and Tye both jumped at the sound, much louder than the hushed whispers that the rest of the group spoke in. Bart, Ed, and Asami immediately began watching their perimeter. And Virgil tightened his grip on Max’s cuffs. 

But it was Jason who took the most decisive action. He was next to Max in a heartbeat. His leather gloved hand reaching out towards Max's mouth. But it never made it mark as Virgil reached out and grabbed it.

“I'm just trying to shut him up,” Jason growled, “Superman's X-Ray vision might be stopped by the shielding on this station, but the same is not true of his super hearing.”

“I know dude,” Virgil said, glaring at his offending arm, “I’m trying my best here.”

“But in the back of your mind you must wonder if he will make good on his threat,” Max purred, “So none can lay a finger on me.”

Max laughed, and shouted into the hallway again, “Save Me!”

Jason grumbled, reached into his jacket and pulled out a mask. He shoved it onto Virgil's face, and snapped a band around Virgil's head. Before Virgil could protest Jason pulled a capsule out of his pocket and broke it in front of Max.

Virgil tried to get between Max and the gas. But being a gas, the placement of Virgil's head did not make a difference. And with a small gust from Bart speeding by they made sure that Max got a lungful of knock-out gas.

Max was out by the count of ten. And after the gas had cleared Virgil slipped off the mask. Bart took that time to poke Max’s forehead.

“Finally,” he said.

“ _ Sumimasen, _ ”  Asami broke in pointing, “it is not over.”

The entire gang looked towards where Asami was pointing. Superman was floating down the hall towards them. Bart, Jason, and Asami took point. Ed moved towards the middle and Tye and Virgil hung back, supporting Jaime and Max respectively.

“What are you doing?” Superman spoke slowly, carefully with eyes narrowed.

“It’s not what it looks like,” Bart started.

“No it is.” Jason finished, raising a gun.

Superman moved forward, hand outstretched.

“Give him to me kids,” he ordered, “Don’t make me fight you.”

“Sorry dude,” Virgil said, pushing Max behind him and causing his fingers to spark.

Still it was Bart that made the first move. Rushing forward and body slamming Superman. Not that it did much good, but his next move where he pulled the cape over Superman’s eyes was a little more distracting.

They were at a standstill, Superman was too strong for Bart to affect with any of his normal tactics, but Bart was too fast for Superman to hit. At least until Superman used his ice breath and froze Bart’s leg to the wall.

Asami and Jason let loose their attacks. And while Asami’s chi and Jason’s bullets just bounced off Superman, they did distract him. And that distraction allowed Bart to vibrate his leg, heating up ice and the metal of the Watchtower’s hallway. His leg popped loose the same time that the metal below it began to groan.

Superman paused his assault, and did not use his ice breath again. Asami noticed this and grinned.

She focused her chi attack on the hallway itself. It still bounced off of Superman. But now she was keeping him busy blocking her attacks instead of advancing.

“He is protecting the station,” she shouted towards Jason.

Jason got the message, and began shooting at the hallways, keeping Superman defensive, and preventing any break that would allow him to use his heat vision on Asami.

_ [The Superman’s tactics are ineffectual,] _ the scarab said,  _ [I do not understand why he is allowing us to escape.] _

“He doesn’t want to risk losing Max to a hull breach,” Jaime explained.

_ [Do you not remember what I said when the Max taunted us,] _ the scarab huffed,  _ [Watchtower schematics indicate that a hull breach would lock down the imitate area. It would block the breach but also lock us in with the Superman.] _

Jaime stopped, looked at the battle and then back towards his shoulder.

“What if we were on opposite sides of the breach, not directly next to it?”

The scarab hummed as it ran possibilities.

_ [We would still be locked down, but it would also separate us from the Superman.] _

Jaime smiled. He turned towards Tye and Virgil, and gestured Ed over.

“I’ve got a plan,” he said, “If we can pull back past where Max held me I think we can lock Superman out.”

“How?” Ed asked.

“You tell Jason to blow the OMAC chamber once we get past. The Watchtower’s safety measures will take care of the rest.”

“No,” Ed said turning back towards the fight, “I mean how do you expect us to hold him long enough to retreat.”

Ed was right. Every move Asami, Jason, and Bart made were focused on distracting Superman. But even then he seemed to be slowly gaining the upper hand. If they had to even think about running there was no way that Superman would stay distracted.

Virgil cracked his knuckles.

“You know how speakers work right?” He asked rhetorically, “An electromagnet causes a surface with a magnet to vibrate.”

He dropped Max and tapped the wall.

“Well this surface is now magnetized,” he said with a grin, “and I am the best electromagnet you’re ever going to find.”

Ed, Tye, and Jaime smiled. Ed teleported forward, signaled retreat, and the second that Superman began to move forward Virgil made his move.

The cacophony was nauseating to his friends, but to Superman and his super hearing, it was downright unbearable.

Superman went down to his knees hands over his ears as the rest of the gang ran by Virgil. Bart slowed only momentarily to drag Max with him. Which was ok since any potential injuries from being dragged were less than being left in the noise and future explosion.

Once the gang had passed and Superman began to make his way back to his feet, Virgil enacted part two.

He sparked electricity in his left hand, alternating from a brilliant white like to nothing and back again. Superman flinched and squeezed his eyes shut. Virgil took the opportunity to flee, keeping one hand to the wall to continue the sound.

He raced down the hall. In the distance he could see his friends in one of the rooms near the OMAC chamber. He could see Jason this his detonator held, waiting. Then an impact toppled him.

He skidded for a couple of feet stopping just short of the OMAC chamber. Behind him he could see Superman approaching, his cape ripped. Part was used as impromptu earplugs and the other part a blindfold. A blindfold he was undoubtedly using X-Ray vision to look through, and thus being able to see despite Virgil’s blinding lights.

Virgil struggled to his feet, trying to make it back to the group. But he didn’t think he’d make it before Superman caught up.

That was when he saw Tye and Ed appear between him and Superman. Tye was already growing and glowing. He grew until the edges of his astral form pushed against the wall causing it to buckle.

Virgil didn’t get a chance to see what happened as that second Ed grabbed him and they teleported.

As soon as materialized in the middle of the room several things happened.

A light flashed behind him. Red Hood pushed the red button on his detonator. Jaime screamed, ‘no’, and Virgil shouted, ‘wait.’ Tye’s form shrunk. Another two lights flashed. An explosion ripped through the Watchtower. The lights went dark, doors slammed shut, and the only sound remaining was the muffled whoop of an alarm.

Virgil created a spark between two fingers and illumined the room. He made a mental tally of everyone. Bart was standing over a prone Max. Red Hood was slowly replacing the detonator. Asami and Jaime held each other at the door. Jaime’s eyes were closed his fist pushing uselessly against it. But Asami was looking elsewhere. She shook Jaime and pointed. In the back of the room stood Ed and Tye.

“Don’t scare me like that again,” Jaime said, breaking the silence, on hand at his chest the other pulling Tye into a hug.

“Now you know how I feel,” Tye replied without missing a beat.

“Fair,” Jaime said with a slight laugh, his eyes sweeping the room, “Is everyone ok? Except Max, Max really doesn’t count right now.”

Virgil laughed and moved forward, and Jaime clapped him on the shoulder.

“Thanks for covering us, dude,” Jaime said grinning, “that was brilliant.”

“Literally,” Red Hood commented, joining the group without a sound, “So what’s the plan when these doors open and we find Superman knocking?”

The group looked at each other.

“Can we get the doors open before that?” Asami asked, breaking the silence.

“Well, given that someone managed to make the Watchtower’s systems scarab proof, or at least somewhat scarab resistant, it would take sometime to override the system and make it open itself,” Jaime said.

“And blowing it up wouldn’t help, because other doors would be locked down,” Virgil said, sinking down to sit.

“Not to mention destabilize this part of the Watchtower even more,” Jaime said.

Tye emphatically rolled his eyes. “Okay. But Virgil, I’ve seen you lift a small car with your powers once. Any way you could get that door up?”

Virgil shook his head. “It may use electricity to tell it what to do, but it uses some crazy alien tech too. Me shocking it might just make it stay put, and not want to open up ever.”

“Crazy alien tech?” Red Hood asked.

“This place was a decommissioned GL base before it was given to the League, take the tour sometime. But not to worry, I can always vibrate through anything!” Bart said rapidly, smiling as he got ready to sprint.

“No!” Jaime said.

At everyone’s looks, Jaime sighed. “Remember, just because Max is collared, it doesn’t mean his suggestions don’t still work on people. Including you, Bart.”

“Hey! I fought with you, against Superman.”

“No it’s just...” Jaime stopped and balled his fists, “Bart, remember that Max threatened to make you vibrate out of the watchtower. And I don’t want to risk any more failsafes. Not now. Now when we are so close to our victory.”

Bart stood up straight and took a slow step backwards, “Oh.”

Jaime slid to the floor next to the door, “No armor, but do you think you can... Right right, good.”

No one spoke while Jaime began to work on the door’s control panel. The irregular beeps from the device reverberated off of the quiet room, as everyone waited with bated breath.


	22. Everybody Out

_Warning External Hull Breach. Lockdown initiated._

Both Karen and Mal jumped at the warning.

“Great,” Karen said fingers flying over the keyboard at her terminal, “at least it can’t get any worse.”

“Don’t say that,” Mal said, “people always say that right before things get worse.”

Right after he finished speaking the Zeta platform lit up. He turned towards her, but his expression changed when the names were announced.

_Recognize Wonder Woman 03_

Mal’s face lit up, “Nevermind Beautiful, say it again.”

_Recognize Martian Manhunter 07_

Karen laughed in response.

_Recognize Miss Martian B-05_

Finally it seemed like their luck really was changing for the better.

When the light cleared, Wonder Woman strode off of the platform, lasso in hand.

“What in Hera’s name is going on here?”

Karen laughed and flung her arms around Mal in celebratory relief, “Wonder Woman, you have no idea how good it is to see you.”

Diana looked at Karen and smiled, “Bumblebee, Guardian, it is good to see you as well.”

With the greeting done she frowned, “However I do need to talk to the League, there are vital questions that we need answered.”

“That might be a little difficult,” Karen said standing up straight, “Since there are only four League members not under mind control. You two, Captain Marvel who serving as our distraction in Taos and Red Tornado who is deactivated somewhere on the watchtower.”

M’gann stepped forward, “Is it the Light again?”

“No,” Mal answered, “Max Lord.”

“I knew there was something strange about him,” Wonder Woman said shaking her head.

“So the watchtower has been compromised,” Martian Manhunter said slowly, “Is this hull breach due to him?”

“I hope not,” Karen said, “I really hope not.”

“ _Why?”_ M’gann asked setting up a physic link between everyone in the room with practiced ease, “ _I mean a hull breach is bad but no one fell out, that would involve a higher level alert.”_

“ _No one fell out yet,”_ Karen answered, sending images of her and Cassie launching a javelin, Superman subsequently destroying it, Cassie telling her about Blue Beetle’s unarmored jump, and Max’s threat to make Bart vibrate off of the tower, “ _But jumping into space seems to be common around Max.”_

“ _He really has that much control?”_ Wonder Woman asked, worry seeping into the link.  

“ _Yes,”_ Karen answered, and then flashed her memories of Cassie hiding shrunken in her pocket, their team’s discussion at Red Hood’s safe house about to plan to steal an inhibitor collar, and Tye’s report of Cassie leading the Amazonian backup army, “ _but that doesn’t mean we can’t fight back.”_

Wonder Woman relaxed, but M’gann tilted her head to the side.

“ _That guy in the helmet,”_ she said slowly, “ _he feels...”_

“ _Familiar, I know,”_ Karen answered, “ _I think he was the one shooting during our mission at LexCorp. But right now our bigger problem is Superman and Batman.”_

“ _You said they were under mind control, but why are they a bigger threat than Max himself?”_ Wonder Woman asked.

“ _They just Zeta-ed up here. Whatever drew them away from Cassie’s distraction,”_ Karen said sending images of what Tye had told her of the ground battle, “ _it must be big. And considering it came after an alarm that we don’t recognize it can only be to take out our other team here. Karen sent images her giving information about Jaime’s capture and the inhibitor collar to Tye, Ed, and Asami. If something is going wrong up here it must be their fault.”_

Wonder Woman nodded and led the team through the watchtower.

“ _We won’t let anything happen to them,”_ she said, “ _J’onn, M’gann do you think you can undo Max’s control?”_

 

* * *

 

The clicking of heels jerked Superman’s attention away from Batman, who was helping him get past the Watchtower’s lockdown, and down the hall.

Lois Lane was the last person he expected to see walking towards him. Before he could question what she was doing on the watchtower, Lois spoke.

“Ah, Superman there you are,” she said, “we need you.”

“Lois?” Superman asked slowly, there was a pressure in his head that made everything seem off, “why are you..?”

“No time,” she said cutting him off, and causing the pressure to increase “that explosion shot off several pieces of the Watchtower. Both Gotham and Metropolis could be in their path. And you are the only one who can stop it.”

“Right, of course,” Superman said, trying to focus.

It made sense. He had to protect his city, and the innocents there. But there was something pulling him some reason that he couldn’t.

“I’ll take care of Max,” Batman barked from the access panel he was working on, “you go.”

Between that and the pressure in his head, he felt something snap. And with nothing tying him to the watchtower he followed Lois down the hall.

He walked past Wonder Woman and Martian Manhunter without so much as a wave or a greeting. He followed Lois as the pressure in his head built again.

Nothing made sense.

Something snapped.

Everything made sense.

Superman stopped dead in his tracks. He was no longer following Lois but looking into the glowing green eyes of Miss Martian. But that wasn’t what concerned him.

He remembered. He remembered everything.

He remembered reporting that he had destroyed Wonder Girl’s ship and left the wreckage drifting in space. He remembered trying to take Kid Flash’s leg off. He remembered attacking Static from behind. And the unguarded face of Longshadow while the bomb went off behind him.

“I almost killed them.”

“It wasn’t you,” M’gann soothed, “besides our team is harder to stop than Max has considered.”

“Maybe but,” Superman pressed his palm to his forehead, “Miss Martian, I think Wonder Girl’s team has already surrendered.”

“They are not the only team,” M’gann said, “and that should keep them from getting hurt. We can go back to make sure, and also to keep Max from getting any last minute allies up here.”

Superman nodded blankly and led the way back to the now abandoned Zeta chamber.

“But Max is still here, the kids…”

M’gann held her hand up, “My uncle J’onn and Wonder Woman are here.”

She had spent a lot of time on Mars with them and M’gann projected her certainty that that they could stop Max. Besides she had an ulterior motive. There were a couple of people on the ground that she wanted to make sure were alright.

When two of them arrived in Taos in a flash of golden light, the first thing that M’gann noticed was the amount of sunlight streaming in from where the roof of S.T.A.R. Labs used to be.

Superman immediately began reassurances and explanations.

But M’gann didn’t pay attention to that. Instead she scanned the crowd. Red Arrow and Cheshire sat side by side, guarded by Green Arrow and Black Canary. Billy, Mary, and Freddie, all untransformed also sat side by side, watched over by the Green Lanterns. Troia was also sitting, watched over by Zatanna and Rocket. But all three gave her a small wave and smile, making M’gann think that they all knew the reality of the situation.

And finally, M’gann saw Cassie and Nightwing sitting watched over by Robin and a large green bear.

“Gar!” M’gann said, running forward as she opened her arms for a bear hug- literally, in Garfield’s case.

Then he shrunk back down to his normal mode, and M’gann spoke in his head.

“ _I’m so glad to see you. I’ve missed you.”_

“ _I’ve missed you too, sis. Things have been crazy without you! I mean, Blue getting controlled again, and- M’gann? Are you okay?”_

M’gann tensed, she had hoped that Max had only controlled the Leaguers, just pulling the team along for the ride. But then she felt her brother speak.

“ _Gar- your mind. It feels like...”_

She didn’t finish that thought. She didn’t need to.

“ _Wait- I haven’t been near Bialya! Please please don’t let it be-”_

“ _No, not Queen Bee,”_ M’gann soothed immediately, “ _but I am going to take out the mental suggestions, okay?”_

“ _Okay.”_ Gar lowered his head, letting M’gann touch it with her hands as her eyes glowed green.

“Ugh,” Gar spoke aloud, “I can’t believe I ever believed what he said.”

“I don’t either,” Robin said, “But I’m glad to see that there are easier ways for Max’s commands to be undone.”

M’gann turned towards him, “How were they undone for you?”

“The same way Batman and Batgirl got free,” Nightwing cut in, “Red Hood.”

“I saw him in Karen’s memories,” M’gann said slowly, “he felt familiar.”

“He is,” Nightwing said, “but you knew him as Robin.”

Cassie and Robin nodded in confirmation, and Gar’s eyes went wide.

“That explains how he got along so well with Wolf.”

“Yeah it would,” Nightwing said fondly, “It’s also the reason as soon as we know it won’t trigger another wave of combat, I need to get back on the watchtower.”

“We need to get back on the watchtower,” Cassie interjected, “remember, I’m still immune.”

 

* * *

 

Karen watched tensely from Mal’s shoulder as Miss Martian lead Superman past their position. She watched along with Mal, Wonder Woman, and Martian Manhunter until Superman disappeared from sight.

Then Wonder Woman sprung into action. She jumped out of their hiding spot, raced down the hall and flung the lasso of truth over Batman, pulling it tight around his arms.

The rest of the team followed close behind her.

“Honestly,” Batman said not looking worried or attempting to get out, “I was hoping that this would happen.”

“Why?” Wonder Woman asked him calmly, holding tight to the lasso.

“I’ve been briefed by Nightwing and Wonder Girl, Max Lord has taken mental control of the League and the team.”

At Batman’s answer Karen relaxed.

Wonder Woman however did not let him out of the lasso. Instead she pushed again.

“How were you able to break his control?”

“I wasn’t able to do it alone,” Batman answered darkly, “But I got a ‘wake-up call’ that was _difficult_ to ignore. I assume that Superman is being free by Miss Martian as we speak.”

Wonder Woman nodded and removed the lasso. Batman quickly made his way back to the access panel, as he worked on it he spoke.

“I’ve been delaying opening any of these doors for as long as possible but there is a problem.”

“What?”

“Someone else is trying to open the doors from the inside. They’ve got high level access, but I don’t recognize them.”

“So you’re thinking Max?” Wonder Woman asked.

“Superman said he was being held unconscious. But he should still be considered dangerous. If he woke up or or whatever method they used to subdue him failed or was removed,” Batman frowned.

“Yeah,” Karen said looking pensively at the door, “he does not seem to be a very good loser.”

“Then perhaps he needs to think that he has won,” J’onn said shifting into Superman’s form.

“Alright,” Batman said, “you take point. Everyone else back with me while I open the doors. We need to move fast.”

They moved quickly, opening and inspecting every passageway and room. It soon became apparent why the Watchtower went into lockdown. It was the only door that Batman could not get open. But on the floor below, the ceiling above and the walls besides the shuttered door were long scorch marks. The hallway around it was bent outwards as well.

“I really hope no one was caught in that,” Karen whispered.

“So do I,” Batman whispered darkly.

The next access panel he checked, Batman turned towards them and nodded.

Everyone moved back, past the exploded door, past the buckled hallway. Karen absently noted that it must have been a bad explosion since it was strong enough to keep several vents in the area from properly shuttering.

Karen held her breath as J’onn punched in the override code, and the door creaked open.

There was a flash of light then a blast of thick smoke rolled out of the door.

Then Karen could see into the room. Max was definitely there, slumped in the corner being treated by Virgil and Tye. Bart and Asami were closer to the door. Bart was talking at a near incomprehensible speed with Asami cutting in each time he had to take a breath.

Other than their chatter Karen also thought that she heard muffled banging echoing from somewhere within the watchtower. She turned, scouring the hallways for the source of the sound trusting Mal to let her know if anything changed with Max.

It was Nightwing that she saw first, racing down the watchtower hallways with that same cat-like silence, that had allowed him to startle every member of the team at least once. He was followed closely by Robin, and a hovering Wonder Girl.

While the group was still yards from Karen’s position, Batman turned towards the group and slowed them to a crawl with merely a glare.

Wonder Woman and Wonder Girl exchanged silent smiles. Diana’s was calm and proud while Cassie’s was a little more excited.

Nightwing meanwhile only raised his knuckles to his head. Tapping on the air beside his head as if he was hitting a helmet.

Batman shook his head with eyes narrowed. Nightwing grimaced, but didn’t make any move moves towards Martian Manhunter and Max.

Still from the way his shoulders were tensed Karen could swear that he was saying ‘please hurry.’

And looking back at the ongoing standoff, Karen couldn’t help but agree.

Bart and Asami had managed to push Martian Manhunter away from Virgil and Tye. And Max, Max was gone.

Her head swiveled her head, even if J’onn wasn’t looking directly at Max there was no way that he could get out of the room unnoticed. Unless...

Quietly Karen took off from her perch. Only Mal noticed, and once she raised her finger to her lips he nodded and said nothing.

She flew, and around the corner of the hallway. The Ventilation shaft caught her eye. At first glance she thought that it was now shuttered. Then she realized that she was looking into it, and seeing a pair of tennis shoe soles.

Silently she slipped in. She had to be careful. Because if Max had gotten Tye and Asami, it was not a stretch to believe that he had gotten Ed.

“You guys are not very good at this, are you?”

Karen froze when she heard the deadpanned voice. Her mind instantly rushing to the worst case.

But no one turned towards her and she recognized Jaime’s whisper from farther up the vent.

“Well, I usually fly, so I never really needed to go vent crawling.”

“Teleporter and civilian, remember?” Ed hissed out after he knocked his elbow against the alien metal of the Watchtower.

“Note to self; after this, teach these guys useful skills like ‘stealth’,” the first voice, who Karen now recognized to be Red Hood said. “Alright, Blue, any idea if we’re anywhere near where we’re supposed to be?”

“Should be right...over there,” Jaime said, “And I’m not _that_ bad at this.”

“Yes you are,” Ed answered flatly, “We both are, but again I’m _not_ part of a stealth team.”

“I get it, I get it, Obi-wan here will train me in the ancient and mysterious ways of the _stealth_ once we get this dead weight to a prison cell.”

Red Hood gave a short laugh before answering, “We’re just lucky your friends are really good at being distracting, otherwise Superman’s hearing would have nailed us ages ago.”

Karen tapped the vent twice from where was hovering, “Or it’s because it’s not Superman but Martian Manhunter.”

She heard both Ed and Jaime jump banging something, probably their heads, against the vent. Only Red Hood didn’t flinch at being snuck up on.

“If that’s true than this is over,” Hood stated, “but you were alone with Max so...”

“So no getting near him...” Karen trailed off and realized that if this whole thing was a trick then Virgil was free, which meant, “or the inhibition collar. Understood.”

“So, if Martian Manhunter is back, does this mean Miss M and Wonder Woman are here as well?” Jaime asked.

“Yeah, M’gann’s freeing the heroes on the ground. Wonder Woman and Wonder Girl are here. Along with Guardian, Batman, Nightwing and Robin.”

“Wait a second, Batman’s free now?” Ed asked, “How’d that happen?”

“He said he got a wake up call that was difficult to ignore,” Karen answered, “whatever that means.”

“I can’t believe it,” Jaime said, and Karen heard what sounded like a shove, “I didn’t get to see your big reveal.”

Hood laughed, “Hey I didn’t get to see it either, sometimes that’s the sacrifice we have to make.”

“What reveal?”

“You’ll find out soon enough Pom-poms,” Hood answered, “but for now get Manhunter to stand down and turn back. And we’ll get out of this vent.”

“Right,” Karen said and sped out of the ducts.

Once in the center of the room she returned to her normal height.

“Everyone stand down,” she called, “Max is collared, we’ve won.”

J’onn reacted first, transforming back into himself. The second his skin began to turn green, Bart, Asami, Virgil and Tye all sagged in relief.

Nightwing was the first around the corner, “then is everyone alright? what about Red Hood?”

“Hood’s fine,” she stated, “He’s with Beetle, Ed, and an unconscious Max in the vents.”

Then Karen put together the nickname with Nightwing’s worry and the ability to wake up Batman. Her eyes went wide and she brought her hand to her mouth.

“Oh.”

“What’s wrong beautiful?” Mal asked.

“Nothing’s wrong,” she reassured him quickly, “I just figured out what Jaime meant when he said he missed the big reveal.”

“Wait a second, Jaime knew?” Nightwing asked, turning towards her, “for how long?”

“Since the day we met,” Jaime answered softly, appearing from behind the group, presumably from whatever exit his scarab had found.

Red Hood and Ed flanked him, with Hood dragging Max behind him. Hood then handed Max over to Wonder Woman as Nightwing approached.

“Really Blue, this is the secret you decide that you need to keep.”

Jaime looked defensive for a split second. Then he smirked and spoke with a shrug.

“Things like this are on a need to know basis,” he quoted easily, “I mean imagine how much harder it would be to beat Max if Red Hood’s identity was common knowledge.”

Hood looked over and laughed, “that’s my padawan.”

“You do know that Jaime’s birthday is in June,” Robin pointed out, “he’s older than you.”

Jaime shrugged, “you know my other _mentors_ are either dead, gone because I joined the team, mind controlled by an alien conspiracy, or an actual mind controller leading a conspiracy. So just being younger than me? I’m totally ok with that.”

“Well if that’s the way you feel,” Hood said, smirking, “then your training starts with handling my section of the clean-up.”

“I guess that’s fair,” Jaime answered, smiling, “considering that you get to help me explain to my parents why I was off the grid for so long.”

Hood’s grin fell and Jaime laughed.

J’onn gave a soft smile, shook his head, and then said, “While it is fortunate that the worst of the crisis is over, the fact remains that we do need to put Maxwell Lord in a prison cell and let everyone on the ground know what happened.”

“We’ll restore communications up here, and make sure access is completely restored for everyone with no more nasty surprises,” Mal volunteered.


	23. Epilogue

“A backyard grill, for superheroes,” Tye deadpanned, “are you sure your neighbors won’t be suspicious?”

Jaime shrugged, “I’ve had my face on national television, if they’re not already suspicious I don’t think anything we could do would make a difference.”

“Except since the Lex Luthor ‘rescue’” Tye made finger quotes with one hand while balancing his drink and plate in the other, “and all the fights that Max caused, your popularity has surged.”

“How do you know that?”

“Haven’t had to yell at an op-ed since we got back,” Tye shrugged, “at least not for anti-Beetle stuff, plus all the ‘hero or menace’ tags seem to focus on Kid Flash, Superboy and Robin.”

“Ok so I’m off the radar, I am totally OK with that.”

Tye grinned.

Jaime leaned forward and put his head in his hands, “What else?”

“ Lois Lane, you know,  _ the  _ Lois Lane, did a big multi-part story on the entire Max Lord incident. And one section was devoted entirely to praising your solution to Gotham’s Red Hood issue.”

“So now I have fans?”

Tye laughed, “now you have lots of fans.”

Jaime glanced towards his backyard fence, prompting the scarab to state 

_ [I detect no humans with cameras like those that follow the Superman...] _

The scarab paused long enough to let him sigh in relief before adding.

_ [Yet.] _

Jaime could swear he heard the scarab laugh.

“At least Godfrey will keep me from becoming too popular,” Jaime grumbled.

“Sorry dude,” Tye said, still grinning, “he hasn’t said a single thing about you. Probably because you’re no longer an easy target.”

Jaime snapped his head up.

“Or because we haven’t yet freed him.”

“I think the team already did. Why else would Miss Martian go for the interview about the fight in Taos?”

“Oh, she did,” Jaime said, relaxing, “I’m guessing I do not want to know how it went.”

“No, no you don’t.” Karen interjected. 

Jaime turned his head towards her and smiled. Karen was standing behind him with a drink in hand, and Cassie was beside her grinning. He and Tye took a step back and out, allowing them to join the conversation.

“So, it was bad?” Jaime asked.

“Not for any of us,” Cassie answered gesturing, “But for the rest of the League...Let’s just say they caught a lot of flack for letting an unvetted person have complete access to the Watchtower.”

Jaime opened his mouth to argue but Karen cut him off.

“And for not having a plan to deal with mind control, considering that has been a problem in the past.”

“Right,” Jaime said softly, visions of the Reach playing out in his mind.

Tye put his hand on Jaime’s arm defensively. Cassie didn’t seem to notice.

“Exactly,” she said looking serious, “it’s been 6 years since the Light took mental control of the League, and it’s only now that a team is coming together that can spot this kinds of things before they become a big problem.”

“I thought the idea for the Justice League International was to create a more open League to work with and allay U.N. fears?” Jaime asked.

“It is,” Cassie answered with a grin, “But I’m not talking about the JLI.”

Jaime turned to look at where she was pointing. His parents were talking with, or perhaps conspiring with if he could judge their expressions, the parents of Cassie, Virgil, Tye, Ed, and an older looking english gentleman whom Jason had called Alfred.  

  
  



End file.
